War-Torn Sudan Now Hit by Massive Flooding

Sudan is already a country plagued by civil war and famine. The nation is now grappling with a series of floods. They've killed at least 132 people. They've also impacted tens of thousands of others. Many of the victims died after the collapse of a dam near Port Sudan on the Red Sea. 

Heavy rainfall during the rainy season triggered the flash floods. Waters then swept through villages. The floods destroyed over 10,000 homes. The damage was spread across 10 of the northeast African nation’s provinces. Over 12 million people have already been displaced by a 16-month-old civil war. The war has also spurred widespread food insecurity.   

Prior flooding this summer displaced another 12,000 people. Then, rushing waters engulfed many parts of the country. The United Nations (UN) warned that the death toll from this week’s flooding could rise greatly with more thorough on-the-ground reports. The UN said that communications outages from the floods have made it hard to collect precise details.  

Adding to the woes, many of Sudan's top officials had fled to the Port Sudan region. They sought to escape fighting in the capital city of Khartoum, The Associated Press said.   

Meanwhile, aid workers have struggled to rescue people cut off by the swiftly flowing waters, Reuters said. The war hindered aid groups from getting food to starving families. Now, the flooding is making that problem worse. It’s all combined to create one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.    

"Even before the dam burst people were trapped by the flooding and couldn't get anything from Port Sudan,” Mohamed Othman, a leader from one of the flooded villages, told Reuters. “The aid coming in now can't get to the people.” 

Reflect: How might people stay strong and support each other when their community faces big challenges or emergencies?

Photo of a wheeled loader cleaning swept trees following a devastating flood in Port Sudan, from Reuters.