Rains pound Central Darfur camp houses, schools

Torrential rains again have struck two camps for displaced people in Zalingei, Central Darfur, destroying more than 700 houses and three classrooms. No victims have been reported.

An estimated 709 houses were destroyed in Hamidiya camp on Wednesday evening, and dozens of houses collapsed in Hassahissa, Khamsa Degaig, and El Teiba camps.

Rains and mud streams turned three classrooms in Hamidiya into rubble. On Monday people in the camp reported that five basic schools in Hamidiya and Hassahissa were destroyed, along with 673 homes.

Speaking from Hamidiya camp, El Shafie Abdallah, the coordinator of the Central Darfur camps, told Radio Dabanga that the rains also destroyed a water tank. “Large numbers of families are now surviving in the open without shelter.”