The United Nations refugee agency said that flood conditions in Sudan have hindered the delivery of aid to areas where many are already facing hunger and famine, including to a camp in North Darfur for those who have fled ongoing fighting.
Every year between May and October peak flow on the Nile is accompanied by torrential rains, destroying homes, wrecking infrastructure and claiming lives, both directly and through water-borne diseases.
The impact is expected to be worse this year after nearly 16 months of fighting that has displaced millions of people into flood zones.
In Wadi Halfa, in the north of the country, near the Egyptian border, "around 3,000 homes and health facilities were severely damaged," according to local authorities.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, said in a statement that at least 11,000 people, many of them already displaced, have been affected by the heavy rains and flooding.
Much of the country has descended into a humanitarian crisis since fighting began over a year ago between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. Some of the most devastating violence and displacement has been in the country's western provinces of North Darfur and Darfur.
A July report on hunger conditions released by the The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, found it likely that parts of North Darfur especially the Zamzam camp, are experiencing “the worst form of hunger” known as IPC Phase 5. The IPC said the famine conditions in Zamzam camp were fueled by the conflict and “severely restricted humanitarian access.”
Humanitarian disaster
The Norwegian research group ACAPS already predicted the current situation in a report published last June, that stated that “Sudan is anticipating severe humanitarian challenges during the 2024 rainy season, influenced by conflict and environmental factors.”
The ACAPS analysis observed that increased rainfall could cause flooding, which would in turn ruin Sudan’s agriculture, a potential humanitarian disaster for a nation at the risk of sever famine.
ACAPS warned that floods could also advance the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and prevent aid agencies from reaching more remote areas of Sudan, such as White Nile State on the border with South Sudan.
(With newswires)
