Dera (woreda)

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Dera is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Gondar Zone, Dera is bordered on the south by the Abbay River which separates it from the Misraq Gojjam Zone, on the west by Lake Tana, on the north by Fogera, and on the east by Este. Towns in Dera include Amba Same, Arb Gebeya and Hamusit.

The woreda of Dera was heavily affected by the flash floods in Ethiopia that started 6 September and receded by 26 September 2006. The heavy rain caused Lake Tana to overflow its banks, making thousands of people homeless. "Thousands of heads of cattle, whole silos of grain, and significant tracts of grazing and farmland have been washed away," according to IRIN.^[1]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 290,628, of whom 141,366 were males and 149,262 were females; 21,670 or 7.46% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.3%. With an estimated area of 1,608.44 square kilometers, Dera has an estimated population density of 180.7 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 169.21.^[2]