Rainy season death toll in Sudan surpasses 50

Torrential rains affecting Sudan since the start of the country’s rainy season have killed more than 50 people and flooded more than 8 170 homes. The season usually starts in June and peaks in August and September.

On Saturday, August 13, 2022, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, spokesman for Sudan’s National Council for Civil Defense, said that 19 fatalities have been recorded in North Kordofan province, followed by 17 in western Darfur region and 7 in Nile River province.¹

The flooding and heavy rainfall inundated 16 government facilities and around 40 stores.

As of August 14, the estimated number of people affected by heavy rains and floods since May is about 136 000 people, according to the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), humanitarian organizations on the ground, and local authorities.

Torrential rains and floods destroyed about 8 900 houses and damaged another 20 600 in 12 states.

The National Council for Civil Defence reported on August 13 that 52 people died and another 25 were injured since the beginning of the rainy season.2

The affected states are Central Darfur (38 390 people), South Darfur (28 730), River Nile (15 720), West Darfur (15 500), White Nile (13 920), West Kordofan (5 860), South Kordofan (5 770), North Kordofan (4 410), East Darfur (3 650), Sennar (3 160), Kassala (750) and North Darfur (210).

In addition, the floods have reportedly 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 2 104 ha (5 200 acres) of agricultural land were affected by floods.

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, according to the 2022 Sudan Emergency Response Plan (ERP).

In 2021, about 314 500 people were affected across Sudan, while between 2017 and 2021 on average 388 600 people have affected annually.

More than 80 people were killed and tens of thousands of homes were flooded in 2021. In 2020, authorities reported around 100 fatalities and more than 100 000 flooded homes.

References:

¹ Official: Over 50 deaths from seasonal floods in Sudan – AFP – August 13, 2022

² Sudan – Floods and Heavy Rain Leave 25 Dead, 5,800 Homes Destroyed – UN OCHA – August 14, 2022

Featured image credit: Sudan Red Cross