PORT SUDAN: Torrential flooding wreaked havoc in Sudan’s southeast on Tuesday, inundating entire villages and causing homes to collapse, witnesses informed AFP, marking the first catastrophic weather event of Sudan’s rainy season.
In Aroma, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Kassala, residents were taken aback by the sudden deluge after a dirt barrier serving as a makeshift dam collapsed, local resident Ibrahim Issa recounted over the phone to AFP.
The flooding, which typically occurs later in the summer, followed heavy rainfall in neighboring Eritrea, feeding into the Gash River, also known as the Mareb River. This waterway flows from Eritrea, flooding the flat delta region annually in eastern Sudan just north of Kassala’s state capital.
“My entire house is now submerged; I could only rescue my children,” Issa lamented. By early afternoon, extensive parts of Aroma and three nearby villages were underwater, according to a humanitarian worker in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Social media images depicted residents wading through water levels reaching thigh-high. AFP could not immediately verify the full extent of the damage caused by the flooding.
Every year, torrential rains and river floods, peaking in August, devastate homes, infrastructure, and claim lives, both directly and through waterborne diseases.
This year, the damage is expected to be even more severe following nearly 15 months of conflict that have crippled Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure and displaced millions into flood-prone zones.
The World Meteorological Organization has forecasted “above-normal rainfall” across much of the Greater Horn of Africa this summer, posing a potential disaster for Sudan’s flood-prone areas.
Guleid Artan, IGAD’s climate predictions chief for East Africa, has cautioned of exceptionally high flood risks in Sudan and South Sudan.
Humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned of the near-impossibility of accessing affected areas as floodwaters cut off remote regions, exacerbated by ongoing conflict between Sudanese forces and paramilitary groups.
Sudan is already grappling with what the United Nations describes as one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, with ongoing conflict pushing the country to the brink of famine. Currently, a record 10.5 million people are displaced across Sudan.
