In 2024, the

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

country of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

experienced flooding caused by heavy rainfall. Flooding beginning in July caused the deaths of at least twelve people, with seven more people injured and at least 12,506 people in total affected. Flooding during 2024 was significant due to its concurrence with the

Sudanese civil war The term Sudanese Civil War refers to at least three separate conflicts in Sudan in Northeast Africa: *First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) *Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) *Sudanese civil war (2023–present) It could also refer to other ...

and its resulting

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or exter ...

causing the

internal displacement An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...

of millions of Sudanese citizens, exacerbating the damages caused by the floods to already-vulnerable populations.

Background

As of late-March 2024, an estimated 7.2 million Sudanese citizens were internally displaced as a result of nationwide conflict and war crimes committed during the Sudanese civil war beginning in 2023. The

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for Human migration, migrants, including internally displa ...

(IOM) reported that all of Sudan's 18 states experienced displacement, with most refugees coming from the Sudanese capital of

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

, which accounted for "about 69 percent of the total number of displaced people, followed by

West Darfur West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr), historically Dar Masalit (), is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² ...

with more than 17 percent". The vulnerability of displaced citizens was especially prominent in the Darfur region, where attacks on hospitals, widespread

looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

, and

blockades A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, Contraband, supplies, Materiel, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or I ...

on several cities preventing the delivery of

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

and other resources caused major shortages of medical supplies and food.

Meteorology

The

Intergovernmental Authority on Development The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti. Formation The Intergovern ...

(IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) predicted that from 24 July to 31 July, an estimated 13.4 million Sudanese people in the Eastern and Western regions of Sudan would face "exceptionally heavy rainfall". The ICPAC's Disaster Operations Centre (DOC) issued warnings in these regions and especially in

Kassala Kassala (, ) is the capital of the state of Kassala (state), Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2003 its population was recorded to be 530,950. Built on the banks of the Mareb River, Gash River, it is a market city and is famous for its fruit gardens. ...

, urging civilians to relocate to higher ground. The center noted that insufficient maintenance of the banks and tributaries of the

Mereb River The Mareb River (), also known as the Gash River (), is a river flowing out of central Eritrea. Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia, between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at to t ...

, as well as of water channels in Kassala would greatly worsen the amount of flooding and damage to infrastructure caused by the heavy rainfall. The Kassala Meteorological Department recorded that of rain fell in

, fell in Wad Sheriffe, and fell in Gharb Kassala on 25 to 26 July, which were the highest rainfall amounts in several years for each region.

Impact

From 23 to 25 July 2024, the IOM reported that storms across

North Darfur North Darfur State ( Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and an estimated population of approximat ...

produced heavy rainfall, causing flooding that destroyed roughly 1,018 houses in the town of Zamzam located in the

Al-Fashir Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage: A historical ...

locality, displacing their households. 149 houses suffered partial damage, and 816

latrines A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground (pit latrine), or m ...

were destroyed. The Zamzam

Internally Displaced Persons Camp Internal may refer to: *Internality as a concept in behavioural economics *Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts *Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism * ''Internal'' (album) by Safia, 2016 ...

was primarily affected by the flooding. Flooding in

Kassala State Kassala (, called ''Ash Sharqiyah'' during 1991—1994) is one of the 18 '' wilayat'' (states) of Sudan. It has an area of 36,710 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 2,519,071 in 2018. Kassala is the capital of the state; other t ...

affected 10,180 people or more, of whom most were displaced citizens that recently arrived from Sennar State, and were located at five reception centers in the Gharb Kassala locality. Many of the impacted were shelterless and lived next to roads, rendering them more susceptible to flooding and water-borne illnesses. The flooding damaged several water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, and submerged roads and displacement tents. At least five deaths were reported in the region, three of whom drowned in the

, and one child dying at an IDP camp. Flooding also impacted people in the Reifi Kassala, Shamal Al Delta,

Aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive v ...

, and Gharb Kassala localities. Many displacement shelters were heavily flooded due to not having drains installed and due to flooded latrines, destroying and contaminating food, blankets, clothes, and many other essential supplies. Flooding on 25 to 26 July displaced roughly 500 people and destroyed 100 houses in Aroma town located in the Reifi Aroma locality. On 26 July, 85 houses were "completely destroyed" and 35 more were "partially destroyed" in Al Koma, while twenty-two houses were destroyed and thirteen more partially so in Ghibash village, displacing about 107 households in the Al Koma locality altogether. On 13 August 2024, Sudan's Interior Ministry reported that at least 68 people have been killed due to extensive flooding, and called the floods the worst in the nation since 2019. At least 44,000 civilians were displaced by the flooding since 1 July. Over 12,000 houses and 198,000 feddans of farmland (~205,500 acres) were damaged or destroyed due to the floods.

References

{{2024 floods, state=collapsed 2024 floods in Africa 2024 disasters in Africa Floods in Sudan July 2024 in Sudan Kassala State East Darfur Gezira State Dam failures in Africa

Background

Meteorology

Impact

See also

References