Devastating floods ravage northern Sudan; six dead, thousands of homes destroyed

At least six people have died, and over 2,000 homes were destroyed in flash floods in northern Sudan. 

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that over 55,000 people across the African country were affected by the flash flood and several public infrastructures and farmlands have been destroyed. It further stated that heavy rains led to the situation of floods in at least 11 of the 18 Sudanese states, namely, White Nile state, Khartoum, El Gezira, El Gedaref, Sennar, South and North Kordofan, South and West Darfur, Northern State, and River Nile state.

Meanwhile, The Emergency Chamber of Ed Damer locality in River Nile state claimed that the flood has claimed the lives of six people as well as many livestock. The deluge also led to the collapse of 274 houses and damaged 2,058 more. 

Dozens of schools, mosques washed away 

Over a dozen schools and mosques have also been washed away across the country after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides, the UN OCHA informed. In North Darfur, the newly constructed "Canadian" dam, which was built as part of the country's water harvesting projects, also collapsed and traffic police prevented the passage of private vehicles on the National Export Road because of flooding in North Kordofan.  

It should be mentioned here that Sudan experiences intense rainfall from June to October and the country faces major floods that wreak havoc each year during this season. 

Sudan's flood problems 

According to the UN OCHA, torrential rains had affected 400,000 people in 2019. In 2020, floods affected over 500,000 people and forced the government to declare a three-month state of emergency. In 2020, floodwater also swelled the Blue Nile river to its highest level since records began over a century ago. The Blue Nile river joins the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. 

(Image: AP)