Devastating flooding in Ethiopia has combined with the aftermath of last year's drought and sustained food insecurity from previous seasons to leave some three million people in need of food assistance.

While most of the country enjoyed a better harvest in August - known locally as the belg - areas of the south and southeast, where communities rely on livestock, have not fared well.

According to Fewsnet, the percentage of people requiring food aid is highest in pastoral areas of the southern Somali Region and the neighbouring Borena Zone of Oromiya Region.

In the country overall, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that some eight million people rely on some form of assistance.

Many households are still struggling to recover from the food crisis in late 2005 that followed a drought across eastern, western and southern Africa. Recurrent failure of rain, insecurity due to internal armed conflict and persistent hikes in the price of food affect millions of people annually.

Since early August, these hardships have been exacerbated by the worst floods in Ethiopia's history. Flash floods have affected 357,000 people, including nearly 140,000 forced to abandon their homes. At least 647 have died.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) has said Ethiopia's northern Amhara region was the worst-hit. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has also warned of further flooding in coming months.

East Africa hunger

West Africa Hunger

Southern Africa hunger

African hunger: Myths and realities

Key statistics

Population	79.3 million (U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2006)
People needing immediate aid	3 million (Fewsnet)
Proportion of malnourished in total population	33 percent (FAO)
Life expectancy at birth	47.2 years (UNDP)