Torrential rains kill 23 Sudanese in El Gezira

At least 23 people died and 31 others sustained injuries during the torrential rains that hit El Gezira State last week.

More than 100 villages are affected by the flooding, 1,979 houses and more than 100 classrooms were damaged, the head of police of El Gezira, Maj. Gen. Ali El Tayeb, told reporters in the capital Wad Madani on Thursday.

In El Kamleen locality, five people died owing to landslides and short circuits. 547 houses collapsed. Two children were killed in Gurashi locality when the house they were in collapsed.

Four people died in eastern El Gezira, 248 houses were damaged, and 27 houses collapsed. In southern El Gezira, 27 schools have been closed. More than 18 villages are submerged by floodwater. 401 houses were destroyed and 520 damaged.

According to the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, the heavy rains and floods in Sudan have affected 29,031 families (145,155 people) between 17 June and 10 August this year.

At least 36 people died, and 135 were wounded. 15,537 houses collapsed, and 13.494 houses were damaged. 1,526 head of livestock perished, and 243 acres of agricultural lands were destroyed.

The UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its weekly bulletin last week, that 29 people have been reportedly killed, and 122,210 people are estimated to have been affected by flooding across the country since June.