By AMANUEL GEBREMEDHIN BIRHANE and SAMUEL GETACHEW Wednesday August 5, 2026
A landslide struck a monastery in Ethiopia’s Amhara region after heavy rain on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring seven as rescuers continued searching for an unknown number of people feared trapped beneath the debris.
The disaster unfolded at Tsadqane Debre Mitmaq St. Mary Monastery, where hundreds of worshippers had assembled for a holy water cleansing ritual widely attended by people seeking spiritual relief from chronic illnesses.
“The disaster occurred at approximately 7 a.m., and many of those who died had gathered to receive the holy water,” Megabe Hadis Neka Tibeb Ababu, the diocese’s general manager, told The Associated Press.
He said the number of people still missing was not known and that some could remain buried under the wreckage.
Eleven of the victims had been buried at the monastery, while the remains of the others were transported to their hometowns, Ababu said. Identifying some of the dead remained difficult, he added.
People with serious injuries were transported to Debre Birhan, the capital of North Shewa Administrative Zone, located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the monastery.
The slope gave way near a mountain, sending enormous rocks crashing down onto the worshippers and intensifying the destruction.
The local administration’s communications office said in a statement that experts from the area’s disaster prevention office had been sent to support search and rescue teams.
Across Ethiopia, intense seasonal rains have increasingly brought mudslides and flooding. The country’s rainy season, known locally as Kiremt, generally lasts from June through September.
The latest tragedy follows a deadly mudslide in southern Ethiopia in July 2024, when heavy rains killed at least 257 people. Earlier this year, a similar landslide in Gamo, also in southern Ethiopia, claimed more than 100 lives.
The Horn of Africa nation is facing more frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change. In many rural communities, weak infrastructure leaves residents especially exposed to floods, landslides and repeated droughts, while emergency response capacity remains limited.
