Aid is experiencing difficulty in reaching survivors as a dam in Sudan collapses and flooding cause widespread devastation

In eastern Sudan, emergency responders were compelled to scramble on Tuesday to determine the number of missing individuals after a dam ruptured, causing the most severe of a series of floods that have devastated a nation that has already been torn apart by 500 days of war.

The latest in a series of inundations across the country, the collapse of the Arbaat Dam on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 30 individuals and the probable deaths of dozens more. This year’s rainy season is affecting the country with a greater intensity and in some areas at an earlier time than in previous years.

shattered by war The flooding has further impeded aid delivery, which is already disrupted by the conflict between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in Sudan, which is already grappling with one of the world’s most severe starvation and displacement crises.

“People were unable to procure anything from Port Sudan prior to the dam’s collapse due to the flooding.” A leader from one of the inundated villages, Mohamed Othman, stated, “The aid that is currently being delivered cannot reach the people.”

“Children are hungry and the roads are closed.”

People and supplies were transported across the water in Arbaat by a single excavator.

As a result of the floods, which have destroyed residences and disseminated diseases such as cholera, over 300,000 individuals have been affected throughout the country, and approximately 118,000 individuals have been displaced.

“The size of the unaccounted-for population in Arbaat is unknown to us.” “It is exceedingly challenging to extract information from that location,” stated Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Flooding in the Darfur region has impeded food deliveries, including the initial shipment of provisions from the World Food Programme to famine-prone Kreinik since the reopening of the Adre border crossing to humanitarian aid.

One local volunteer reported that the rains destroyed the bridge that connects the community, where thousands of displaced individuals are currently residing with inadequate food.

On Sunday, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that the first shipments since mid-July had made it through the al-Tina border crossing into North Darfur, despite being obstructed by inundation.

As of Sunday, at least 500 households in Tokar, which is also located in the Red Sea state, were displaced as a result of the need to navigate through rivers between damaged properties.

Heavy rainfall struck numerous regions of Northern Sudan overnight, resulting in the destruction of roofs and the flooding of neighborhoods. However, there was limited official information regarding the extent of the damage. Images of the affected areas were shared on social media.