Sudan flooding leaves at least 62 dead as two months of rain causes devastation

Thousands of homes have been swept away, UN says

Vincent Wood
Monday 26 August 2019 17:19 BST
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Sudanese load items they salvaged from their village onto trucks following heaving floods in Wad Ramli, some 45 km north of Khartoum
Sudanese load items they salvaged from their village onto trucks following heaving floods in Wad Ramli, some 45 km north of Khartoum

At least 62 people have died in Sudan as flash flooding across the country causes devastation to people’s homes and livelihoods in the northeast African country.

The destruction, caused by a barrage of torrential rain that began in July, has affected people across 15 of the country’s states – with acting deputy health minister Suliman Abdel-Gabar stating around 100 people had been injured by the rising waters.

Flooding is believed to have damaged at least 37,000 homes across the country, according to UN estimates, causing at least two thirds of them to completely collapse.

Meanwhile footage from the southern outskirts of the capital city of Khartoum, where the white and blue Nile rivers meet, shows buildings being swept away by the crushing torrent of water.

The devastation has left hundreds of thousands of people displaced.

The disaster is also causing damage to food sources, with around 3,600 cattle confirmed to have died and huge areas of agricultural land destroyed.

The country’s rainy season is expected to continue until the end of October.

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