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.



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.