KHARTOUM, Sudan
The collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Sudan's eastern Red Sea state over the weekend flooded nearby homes and killed at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency said.
The UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said late Monday, citing local
officials, that the actual number of fatalities from the collapse on Sunday
might be higher. Additionally, about 70 villages around the dam were affected
by the flash flooding, including 20 villages that have been destroyed.
The Arbaat Dam, which is about
38 kilometres (nearly 25 miles) northwest of Port Sudan, was massively damaged
because of heavy rains. In areas west of the dam, the flooding either destroyed
or damaged the homes of 50,000 people — 77 per cent of the total population
living there. Those affected urgently need food, water and shelter, OCHA
warned, adding that damage in eastern parts of the dam is still being
assessed.
More than 80 boreholes
collapsed because of the flooding, OCHA said citing officials, while 10,000
heads of livestock are missing, and 70 schools have been either damaged or
destroyed. Heavy rain and flooding across Sudan this month impacted more than
317,000 people. Of those impacted, 118,000 people have been displaced,
exacerbating one of the world's biggest displacement crises due to the ongoing
war in the country.
Tuesday marks 500 days since
Sudan plunged into war after fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed
Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict began in the capital,
Khartoum, and raged across Sudan, killing thousands of people, destroying
civilian infrastructure, and pushing many to the brink of famine. More than 10
million people were forcibly displaced to find safety, according to the UN.
Medecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Tuesday that "this
is a shameful moment" for international humanitarian organizations, which
for more than 16 months, "have failed to provide an adequate response to
the country's escalating medical needs — from catastrophic child malnutrition
to widespread disease outbreaks."
"At the same time, heavy
restrictions from both warring parties have drastically limited the ability to
deliver humanitarian aid," MSF said.
Abdirahman Ali, CARE's Sudan
country director warned in a statement Tuesday that the war
"shattered" the health care system, "leaving countless without
care."
More than 75 per cent of
health care systems have been destroyed since the war began, according to a
World Health Organization estimate in July.
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