66 people killed as floods destroy thousands of homes in Sudan
66 people killed as floods destroy thousands of homes in Sudan
Around 24,000 homes and two dozen government buildings have been badly damaged or completely destroyed in the floods, according to officials.
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Floods have devastated parts of Sudan since the rainy season began in June [Getty]
Flash floods triggered by heavy rains continued to tear up homes across Sudan, an official said Tuesday, with the death toll rising to 66 since the start of the rainy season.
Earlier this week, authorities had said that at least 50 people were killed since the rains started in June. Brig. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, the spokesman for Sudan’s National Council for Civil Defense, said Tuesday that at least 28 people were reported injured during the same period.
Some 24,000 homes and two dozen government buildings have been badly damaged or completely destroyed, he said.
Deadly floods in Sudan, Korea, & Somalia, and unprecedented droughts in Europe & China.
— Ali H. Shaib (@AliHShaib) August 15, 2022
As for the Middle East, Tabari & Willems study was right: Dry seasons get drier and wet seasons wetter, & higher overall precipitation.#Climatechange is here.
Study:https://t.co/eyB4txFEfc pic.twitter.com/6IyPLFPIYK
Sudan has been without a functioning government since an October military coup derailed its short-lived democratic transition following the 2019 removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.
Overall, around 136,000 people have been impacted by heavy rainfall and floods in 12 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to the government-run Humanitarian Aid Commission.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the floods also inundated 238 health facilities. The western Darfur region and the provinces of Nile River, White Nile, West Kordofan and South Kordofan were among the hardest hit, it said.
Footage circulated online over the past weeks showing flood waters sweeping through streets and people struggling to save their belongings.
Sudan’s rainy season usually starts in June and lasts until the end of September, with floods peaking in August and September. More than 80 people were killed last year in flood-related incidents during the rainy season.
In 2020, authorities declared Sudan a natural disaster area and imposed a three-month state of emergency across the country after flooding and heavy rains killed around 100 people and inundated over 100,000 houses.
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