The UN said on Monday that floods in Sudan could affect more than 460,000 people this year while humanitarian organizations on the ground, and local authorities revealed that more than 136,000 people have been affected by floods since May in the Darfur, eastern Sudan and Kordofan states.
Also, torrential rains and floods destroyed about 8,900 houses and damaged another 20,600 in 12 states, according to the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC).
The National Council for Civil Defense reported that 52 people died and another 25 injured since the beginning of the rainy season.
The most affected areas include the five provinces of the Darfur region, in addition to the state of White Nile, El Gezira state and the three provinces of Kordofan, where more than one third of the population resides.
In El Gezira state, more than 20 local villages were flooded, destroying about 100 homes and large agricultural lands while water is still surrounding those areas.
Citizens appealed to the central government for urgent intervention to confront the disaster.
In Eastern Sudan, civil groups warned of the heavy damage caused by the flooding of the Gash River, which originates from the Ethiopian plateau.
They stressed that the situation has become dangerous due to the expansion of areas covered by heavy rains and floods, sweeping homes and agricultural areas.
The groups then appealed to State authorities and regional and international organizations to take urgent action to stave off the disaster and provide relief to the afflicted, warning that the flood water surrounding the area is leaving many sick with no medical aid.
Sudan’s rainy season usually starts in June and lasts until September, with floods peaking in August and September.
On Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that compared to the same period of 2021, the number of affected people and localities this year has doubled.
“In 2022, more than 460,000 people could be affected by the floods,” it said.
The Office noted that the floods have affected 238 health facilities, 1,560 water sources and over 1,500 latrines were damaged or washed away. People have lost over 331 head of livestock and over 5,200 feddans of agricultural land were affected by floods.
The Sudan Meteorological Authority has indicated that most states might be affected by moderate rain or heavy rain in the next 24 hours, causing runoff through valleys and low areas.
