Addis Ababa — Fears are mounting that survivors of the severe flooding in southern Ethiopia, which has claimed about 40 lives, may now fall victim to disease.

Humanitarian organisations said on Tuesday that many of the victims of the flooding had been weakened due to the preceding severe drought in the region.

Tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes after the main Wabe Shebelle river burst its banks on 22 April, flooding lowland areas of Somali Regional State.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that already weakened children were more likely to succumb to respiratory infections, diarrhoeal and other waterborne diseases.

"With few safe water supplies functional in the area, people are drinking directly from the river and are at great risk of getting waterborne diseases," UNICEF said.

UNICEF, which has been distributing emergency medical kits, warned that more than half the children in the region were suffering from malnutrition.

According to UNICEF, which is planning an emergency measles immunisation and vitamin A campaign, as many as 80 percent of the flood victims are women and children.

A massive rescue operation has begun to provide aid for the 110,000 people who have been affected in Somali Region - one of the poorest and most remote parts of Ethiopia.

The federal government has also commandeered three cargo planes to bring in emergency supplies and high-energy food for the victims.