126,000 Sudanese affected by rains and floods

The federal Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that the number of fatalities of the torrents and floods that hit Sudan during the last two weeks has risen to 77. Some 227 people sustained injuries. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society and the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) estimate that as of 10 August that the rains and floods affected more than 126,000 people, destroyed 12,600 homes, and damaged another 10,000 homes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its latest weekly bulletin. The hardest-hit states are Khartoum and River Nile. The severity of the rains and floods this year are similar to those experienced in 2013. By 13 August 2013, the number of people affected by floods was 147,000 and the number of houses destroyed or damaged stood at 26,000. Overall, about 300,000 people were affected by floods in August-September 2013, according to aid organisations. The Sudanese Meteorological Authority and the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources have warned for more floods, as rains continue, and the Nile River has reached critical flooding levels. The Meteorological Authority expects the rainy season to peak in mid-August. Darfur Nearly four days of continuous rainfall over the past week in West Darfur has affected thousands of people. HAC estimated that the flooding has affected some 5,300 people in nine camps for the displaced around El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. A verification and assessment of those affected by floods is ongoing. In North Darfur, flooding and heavy rain affected an estimated 300 newly displaced people near the Korma Unamid team site last week, according to the national NGO Zulfa. Zulfa supported their relocation to higher land close to the team site. An estimated 9,000 newly displaced in Zamzam camp were relocated from the camp, lying in a valley, to higher ground, prior to the arrival of the rains. North Darfur State’s Governor Osman Kibir reported that the rains destroyed 2,716 houses in the state, 18 schools, and a number of governmental facilities in the state. Continuous heavy rains over the weekend in Central Darfur caused significant destruction and damage to the shelters in Hamidiya, El Salam, Hassahissa, Khamsa Degaig, and Tayeba camps. The community leaders in these camps are preparing lists of affected families, which will be verified by humanitarian organisations in the coming days. File photo: A house damaged by rains in Hamidiya camp, Central Darfur (OCHA) Related: 42 dead, 24,632 households affected by Sudan rains (13 August 2014) North Darfur capital ‘one large pool’: residents (11 August 2014) Rains bring more destruction to Darfur and Sudan’s capital (10 August 2014) Dozens dead in heavy flooding across Sudan (6 August 2014)