5 Dead and Thousands Affected by Floods in Kassala

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At least five people, including a child, have died, and approximately 10,180 people have been affected by heavy rains and floods in Kassala State, according to the United Nations.

In a statement released the day before yesterday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) explained that three victims drowned in the Gash River, while a child died at a displacement site during heavy rains. Most of those affected by the heavy rains are recently displaced individuals from Sennar State. The heavy rains and floods have also impacted an unspecified number of people and homes in the Aroma, North Delta, Rural Kassala, and West Kassala localities.

Floodwaters have inundated tents, water and sanitation facilities, and roads. The majority of the displaced people affected are living in the open along roadsides without access to food, clean drinking water, or safe sanitation facilities, amid growing concerns of a potential rise in waterborne diseases.

The heavy rains and floods on July 25 and 26, 2024, across the city of Aroma in Rural Aroma Locality, Kassala State, have displaced approximately 500 people (100 families) and destroyed around 100 homes, according to the Displacement Tracking Matrix of the International Organization for Migration.

The statement warned of further flooding in Kassala City, with heavy rains expected in the coming days and rising water levels in the Gash River.

It further explained that the lack of maintenance of the banks of the Gash River and its tributaries, repairs to irrigation water channels, and the absence of restoration of water channels within Kassala City exacerbate the impact of heavy rains on infrastructure. Approximately 13.4 million people in parts of western and eastern Sudan are expected to experience exceptionally heavy rains between July 24 and 31, according to the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. The Disaster Operations Center of the Disaster Response Center advised the local community in flood-prone areas, especially in Kassala, to move to higher ground and exercise caution during this period.