1,000 homes washed away by rain in Central Darfur camps

Torrential rains on Saturday destroyed more than 1,000 shelters at the Hamidiya, Khamsa Degaig, Hassahissa, and Teiba camps for the displaced in Zalingei locality, Central Darfur. “We have not witnessed rains like this for more than 20 years. Between 4 and 7 pm on Saturday, heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds and hail washed away the possessions of more than 1,000 families,” the coordinator of the Central Darfur camps told Radio Dabanga. “A large number of toilets were destroyed too. Four school classes of Sultan Teirab and Abu Ateem basic schools collapsed. Many trees broke down.” The camps coordinator said that those affected are now living in the open, “bereft of everything they owned”. He urged the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the Norwegian and Canadian aid organisations operating in the camps, to “quickly conduct a survey in cooperation with the camp elders, and provide plastic sheets, blankets, and mosquito nets for the affected”. File photo: Shelters in Darfur damaged by rains in 2013 (OCHA) Related:Collapse at West Darfur’s new airport (14 July 2014)Rain leaves thousands living rough in South Darfur (1 July 2014) Rains cause damage, deepen misery in South Darfur (28 May 2014) Heavy rainfall destroys houses, crops in South Darfur (28 April 2014)