Sudan’s Red Crescent warns of ‘alarming rise’ in Blue Nile

The Sudanese Red Crescent Society in Khartoum has warned that “a new rise in the Blue Nile is expected to reach Sennar, central Sudan, Khartoum, and the Northern State”.

The Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent society, Osman Jaafar Abdullah, said in a statement that “the situation remains alarming and requires monitoring”.

Abdullah pointed to the possibility of sudden flash flooding caused by expected torrential rains, according to the information received from meteorological station.

Last week the Interior Ministry announced that heavy rains and floods resulted in the death of 76 people and the collapse of hundreds of houses in 13 Sudanese states.

Mother and child drown

At Kabkabiya in North Darfur, Maryam Mousa and her child drowned at Sortony Valley camp for the displaced on Tuesday.

The Coordinator of Kabkabiya camps told Radio Dabanga that the rain that filled the valley in the camp swept-away Maryam Mousa and her three-year-old child while they were trying to cross to the other side.

The Coordinator added that the search for the bodies is ongoing, but searchers are being hampered by the intense water currents.

Flood Task Force

According to a Flooding Snapshot published this week by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from official Sudanese government figures, heavy rain and flooding since early June have affected over 122,000 people and destroyed over 13,000 houses in many parts of Sudan.

OCHA says that The Government of Sudan is leading and coordinating the response, and has reactivated the Flood Task Force (FTF) at federal and state levels. The FTF includes representatives from Ministries, the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), Civil Defence Authority, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS), and United Nations agencies.

(Map by OCHA)