Eastern Sudan hit hard by floods, Darfur farms destroyed

Heavy rains and floods continued in Sudan. An estimated 136.000 people have been affected so far. In Darfur, many farms were destroyed and camps for the displaced were affected. In eastern Sudan’s Kassala and in El Gezira, in central Sudan, more than 3,000 homes were damaged and at least 15 people died as rivers flooded.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported on Sunday that an estimated 136.000 Sudanese have been affected by heavy rains and floods in various regions of the country since May.

In Central and South Darfur, many farms were destroyed by the flooding as they are often located next to rivers. This is particularly worrying because Sudan’s agricultural season is already under threat and, with the economic crisis and rising inflation, Sudan’s food security is in peril.

Many farmers live in camps for the displaced after decades of violence and genocide against Darfuri farmers. Camps for the Darfuri displaced have been severely affected by flooding in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.

In eastern Sudan, many houses also (partially) collapsed as rivers flooded. Humanitarian assistance is needed urgently.

Central Darfur

A woman was killed in Bindisi camp for the displaced in Central Darfur in floods that occurred due to heavy rains.

The sheikh of the camp, Ishag Abdallah, told Radio Dabanga that the rains continued for 48 hours without interruption. He said that the rains caused human losses, demolished houses, and damaged farms as the valley flooded.

Abdallah explained that more than 500 families are now without shelter and called on the state, the local government, and humanitarian organisations to provide shelter to the affected people.

South Darfur

Ibrahim Ismail told Radio Dabanga that the torrential rains that swept areas in South Darfur on Saturday led to flooding in parts of the state capital Nyala, and in Ed El Fursan and Reheid El Berdi in the area of Um Zeifa in Wadi Kogra.

He said that floods destroyed most of the farms on the banks of the wadi (river) and submerged parts of neighbouring villages.

Community leaders in Kalma camp for the displaced, east of Nyala, launched an urgent appeal to humanitarian organisations and government authorities to expedite the provision of necessary aid to the displaced people affected by the torrential rains, which destroyed thousands of homes in the camps.

Sheikh Mousa Bahar told Radio Dabanga from the camp that the displaced had not received their food rations from the organisations for more than three months.

Two days ago, Radio Dabanga reported that 2,322 children were reported as malnourished in Kalma camp and six died of malnutrition after the World Food Programme (WFP) had to suspend support to a large number of displaced people and decided to hand out money instead of food rations.

Kassala

In eastern Sudan, eight people died and 2,000 houses collapsed in the area of the El Gash River due to torrential rains and floods.

Activists from the region demanded that the El Gash delta be declared a disaster area. Activist Abu Fatima Onour said on his Facebook page that the El Gash River has turned the villages of the delta into isolated, inaccessible islands.

Onour explained that people suffer from the spread of diseases, a shortage of medicine and food, and the loss of livelihoods as many homes collapsed.

It is not possible to reach the area except by helicopter, but aid is needed urgently.

The activists lament the government’s inability to act and humanitarian organisations’ reluctance to provide assistance. They hope that declaring the area a disaster area would speed up aid delivery.

The Gash River is the main supply of water for Kassala. Due to the river’s heavy sedimentation, the riverbed is 2m higher than the surrounding land around Kassala city, which increases the risk of destructive flooding. In 2006, floods caused multi-million property losses in the area.

El Gezira

In El Gezira, where the White Nile River flows, more than 1000 houses have been severely damaged and partially collapsed during heavy rain and flooding between July 11 and August 13. So did at least 64 public latrines and two governmental facilities.

At least seven people died whilst three were injured, according to the General Department of Health Emergencies and Epidemic Control in El Gezira.