Evacuation plans for flood-prone areas in Sudan

Sudan's National Council for Civil Defence has announced the evacuation of 114 out of 182 villages which may be hit by torrential rains and floods to safe places, in anticipation of the rainy season this year.

The minister of interior declared in a report to the cabinet a set of procedures and measures to cope with these expected risks. Through emergency plans, training of rapid response teams, follow-up reports of rain levels to review areas of vulnerability of national roads, and establishing sand dams and terraces, he plans to stop water from flooding villages and residents.

Omar Mohamed Saleh, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, said the projections indicate that the rainfall expected this year would be within the average rates in most states. The exceptions to this include the states of Kordofan and Darfur; where the rainfall is expected to be the highest.

In late July 2014, close to 257,000 people in Sudan had been affected by heavy rains and flooding, according to the HAC and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS). The rains and floods have damaged or destroyed over 43,000 houses in 13 states across Sudan, with Blue Nile being the most affected state, followed by Khartoum, North Darfur, River Nile and South Kordofan.