Sudan: Seasonal floods kill 77 people, destroy 14,500 homes

CAIRO -- More than 70 people have been killed and 14,500 homes destroyed by Sudan's seasonal downpours and floods, a senior official said Thursday.

The death toll since the rainy season kicked off in May stood at 77 people, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, spokesman for Sudan’s National Council for Civil Defense, told The Associated Press.

The provinces most affected include North Kordofan, Jazira, South Kordofan, South Darfur and River Nile, he added.

On Monday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that more than 136,000 people have been affected by floods in the eastern Sudan and Kordofan states. The UN agency said it expected this figure to increase as the counting was still underway and heavy rains had been forecast.

Sudan’s rainy season usually lasts until September, with floods peaking just before then.

Last year, flooding and heavy rain killed more than 80 people and swamped tens of thousands of houses across the country. In 2020, authorities declared Sudan a natural disaster area and imposed a three-month state of emergency across the country after the deluge killed around 100 people and inundated over 100,000 houses.