Rainy season: 100 homes of Sudanese refugees in Chad washed away

Torrential rains that lasted for five consecutive days led to the collapse of more than 100 homes of Sudanese refugees in Kounongou camp in eastern Chad last week.

The heavy rainfall between July 13 and July 17 also destroyed a number of shops in the camp’s market, a Darfuri refugee told Radio Dabanga.

There were no casualties reported. The families who lost their homes, sought refuge in the camp’s school buildings.

The refugee appealed to the United Nations refugees agency (UNHCR) “to urgently intervene and provide shelter, food and clothing for the affected”. According to UNHCR estimates, Chad hosts upward of a quarter of a million refugees from Sudan, most of whom fled to the country from the decades of conflict in Darfur.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, since the beginning of the rainy season in June, about 6,250 people have been affected by heavy rains and flooding in Kassala, White Nile state, and South Kordofan, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan.

In 2021, about 314,500 people were affected by rains and flooding across Sudan, including 11,220 people in Kassala.

The rainy season usually lasts up to September, with the peak of rains and flooding usually observed in August-September.

Preparations

Authorities in Wad Madani, capital of El Gezira, south of Khartoum, are making preparations to be ready for emergency interventions during the rainy season.

During his inspection of the various state departments of the state, (Roads and Bridges, Water, Electricity, and Civil Defence) on Tuesday, Engineer Abubakr Abdallah emphasised “the importance of rapid response to complaints from people, institutions and public utilities, and the continuation of work throughout the day”.

The El Gezira Rainy Season Emergency Secretariat is working on the repair of irrigation engines and water networks. It reported water pools and the partial collapse of some houses in the state, but no casualties after heavy rainfall last weekend.