Seasonal Floods Destroy Over 2,500 Homes in Eastern Sudan

A man carries belongings as he wades through of a flooded road in the town of Shaqilab, about (25 km) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)
A man carries belongings as he wades through of a flooded road in the town of Shaqilab, about (25 km) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)
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Seasonal Floods Destroy Over 2,500 Homes in Eastern Sudan

A man carries belongings as he wades through of a flooded road in the town of Shaqilab, about (25 km) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)
A man carries belongings as he wades through of a flooded road in the town of Shaqilab, about (25 km) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

Deadly seasonal floods have collapsed more than 2,500 houses in eastern Sudan, state news has reported, leaving thousands homeless in an already impoverished region.

Another 546 houses were partially destroyed by torrential rains in River Nile province, SUNA news agency said late on Thursday.

Since the start of the rainy season in May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that an estimated 38,000 people have been affected by the floods across the East African country.

So far, the areas hardest hit include Kassala, South Darfur, Central Darfur, South Kordofan, the White Nile and the River Nile provinces, The Associated Press reported.

The total nationwide death toll remains undetermined. On Wednesday, SUNA reported that two children were killed when floods destroyed their home in the central province of the While Nile.

Earlier, OCHA said that at least another six people had died, and an unconfirmed number of people were injured when their houses collapsed or were washed away by floods in the Central Darfur province.

About 2,800 houses were destroyed, and more than 1,620 houses damaged in the same province, according to an OCHA statement released on Monday.

Last month, the UN said that flash floods killed another 12 people in South Darfur.

Sudan's rainy season usually lasts until September, with floods peaking up between August and September. In 2021, more than 314,000 people were affected by rains and flooding across Sudan, according to the UN.



UNRWA: Israel is Using Advanced Weaponry in Jenin Operation

A group of Palestinians (rear) waits to leave from a hospital on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
A group of Palestinians (rear) waits to leave from a hospital on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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UNRWA: Israel is Using Advanced Weaponry in Jenin Operation

A group of Palestinians (rear) waits to leave from a hospital on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
A group of Palestinians (rear) waits to leave from a hospital on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank Roland Friedrich said Wednesday that Israel is “using advanced weaponry and warfare methods including airstrikes” in its “massive operation” in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin which Palestinian officials said killed 10 people, just days after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip.

Friedrich said Jenin Camp is “nearly uninhabitable, with some 2,000 families displaced since mid-December.”

“UNRWA has been unable to provide full services to the camp in this time,” he said on X.

“The operation comes merely a week before implementation of Israeli legislation that severely undermines UNRWA’s operations in the West Bank, including coordination of humanitarian access,” he said.

“It also threatens to undermine the fragile ceasefire reached just days ago in Gaza,” Friedrich added.