Rescue teams have so far recovered the bodies of 157 people killed in two landslides in southern Ethiopia, a local official told the BBC.
The landslides occurred on Sunday evening and Monday morning, following heavy rains in a remote mountainous area of the Gofa region.
Local authorities said the search for survivors was “continuing vigorously” but “the death toll could rise”.
Footage showed hundreds of people gathered at the scene and others digging through the ground to search for people trapped below.
In the background, a partially collapsed hillside can be seen, revealing a large patch of exposed red earth.
The head of the Goza region, Dagmawi Ayele, told the BBC that those killed included both adults and children, while 10 people who were rescued were being treated in hospital.
Heavy rains triggered landslides on Sunday and as police, teachers and people from nearby villages continued their frantic search for survivors on Monday, a second landslide struck, burying them under mud, Mr. Dagmawi said.
“We are still digging,” he told the BBC.
Gofa is part of the state known as Southern Ethiopia, located about 320km (199 mi) southwest of the capital Addis Ababa.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), southern Ethiopia is one of the regions of the country that has suffered heavy rains and floods in recent months.
But the landslides and floods have been occurring for much longer. In May 2016, at least 50 people were killed in floods and landslides following heavy rains in the south of the country.
There are many factors that cause flooding, but a warming atmosphere due to climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely.
The world has already warmed about 1.2 degrees Celsius since the industrial era began and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments around the world make drastic cuts in emissions.
