- Title: Sudan still reeling after flash floods destroy dam, killing dozens
- Date: 27th August 2024
- Summary: TOKAR, SUDAN (AUGUST 26, 2024) (VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) MAN WALKING THROUGH FLOODED STREET VARIOUS OF HOUSES SURROUNDED BY FLOOD WATERS RED SEA STATE, SUDAN (AUGUST 26, 2024) (REUTERS) LOCALS GATHERED AROUND DEAD BODIES DEAD BODIES COVERED WITH WHITE BLANKETS VARIOUS OF MAN DIGGING GRAVE VARIOUS OF MAN FILLING HEALTH MINISTRY CAR WITH GAS HEALTH MINISTRY OFFICIAL GETTIN
- Embargoed: 10th September 2024 10:06
- Keywords: FLOODS SUDAN
- Location: Tokar & Red Sea state, SUDAN
- City: Tokar & Red Sea state, SUDAN
- Country: Sudan
- Topics: Africa,Disaster/Accidents,Floods
- Reuters ID: LVA002952027082024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Parts of eastern Sudan were still submerged after surging waters burst through a dam, wiping out at least 20 villages and leaving at least 30 people dead, the United Nations said on Monday (August 26), devastating a region already reeling from months of civil war.
Torrential rains caused floods that overwhelmed the Arbaat Dam on Sunday just 40 km (25 miles) north of Port Sudan, the de facto national capital and base for the government, diplomats, aid agencies and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
On the road to Arbaat on Monday, Reuters video showed people burying a man and covering his grave with driftwood to try to prevent it from being washed away in mudslides.
The homes of about 50,000 people were impacted by the flooding, the United Nations said, citing local authorities, adding that the number only accounted for the area west of the dam as the area east was inaccessible.
The dam was the main source of water for Port Sudan, which is home to the country's main Red Sea port and working airport, and receives most of the country's much-needed aid deliveries.
Officials said the dam had started crumbling and silt had been building during days of heavy rain that had come much earlier than usual.
Sudan's dams, roads and bridges were already in disrepair before the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Forces began in April 2023.
Both sides have since funneled the bulk of their resources into the conflict, leaving infrastructure badly neglected.
Some people had fled their flooded homes and headed to the mountains where they were now stranded, the health ministry said.
On Monday, the government's rainy season taskforce said 132 people had been killed in floods across the country, up from 68 two weeks ago. At least 118,000 people have been displaced by the rains this year, according to United Nations agencies.
The conflict in Sudan began when competition between the army and the RSF, who had previously shared power after staging a coup, flared into open warfare.
The two sides had been seeking to protect their power and extensive economic interests as the international community promoted a plan for a transition towards civilian rule.
Overlapping efforts in pursuit of a ceasefire, including Saudi- and U.S.-led talks in Jeddah, have not eased the fighting and half of the 50 million population lack sufficient food.
(Production: Tarek Fahmy, ElTayyeb Siddig) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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