Aid agencies call for help as Sudan floods leave 89 dead

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The international crisis group, Save the Children is urgently calling for new funds to help respond to massive flooding in Sudan.

The aid organization said in a statement that it is on the ground providing urgently needed housing, hygiene, and health supplies to families across Gezira and River Nile states in Sudan but noted that much more is required to meet the growing need. 

As the downpours continue, the organization fears more lives and homes will be lost in the coming days and weeks, with the rains expected to last through to September.

The heavy rains and flooding in Sudan have now claimed nearly 90 lives and displaced more than 146,000 people.

Sudan is currently experiencing its fourth consecutive year of abnormally extensive floods, with above-average rainfall causing more than 80 deaths and partly or completely destroying nearly 44,000 homes across the country. 

Save the Children staff have reported whole villages submerged, and families losing all their belongings.

The Sudanese government on Sunday declared a state of alert and emergency in six states of the country over heavy rains and floods.

Nearly 136,000 Sudanese people have been affected by the floods and heavy rains since June, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.