Flooding in Sudan; water-borne disease reported

14 people have been reported dead in Kassala, El Gedaref, and River Nile state, after torrential rain and flooding continued in Sudan yesterday.

In Kassala, eastern Sudan, eight people died as a result of torrential rains that swept through the villages in Reefi Aroma. Water-borne disease has been reported in the villages.

Yesterday, a meeting of the High Committee for Civil Defence and Rainy Season Emergencies was held in Kassala. The deputy director of Reefi Aroma explained that the locality has become a disaster area, after the El Gash river deviated from its natural course. This has led to water sweeping through all locality villages except those in the west.

About 23 villages are cut off by the water, with approximately 8,500 villagers affected.

Yesterday, three men drowned in a flooded mine in Galaa El Nahal locality in El Gedaref. Others are still missing.

A miner told Radio Dabanga that heavy rainfall totally flooded the mines in the area of El Salmin. Civil defence was not able to reach the mine to pump water out due to problems with the vehicles, he said. He urged the authorities intervene as soon as possible.

In River Nile state in northern Sudan, three girls from Um Zour village in the area of Wad Hamed drowned in the Nile.

The Sudanese Floods Committee warned that the Nile will rise further in the next few days. They have advised that authorities and residents take caution, especially in Khartoum and the northern states.

Widespread flooding

On August 5, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan, confirmed that torrential rains have led to flooding, landslides, and damage to houses and infrastructure in at least 14 of the 18 states across the country.

“More than 50,000 people have been affected in West Kordofan, South Kordofan, Sennar, El Gezira, South Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, Red Sea, Blue Nile, White Nile, River Nile, Khartoum, Kassala and Northern states, according to the preliminary data from the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC). The numbers are expected to rise as the results of more assessments become available,” the OCHA report states.

OCHA says that the government, led by HAC, and aid organisations are closely monitoring the situation and providing life-saving assistance to people affected.

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