Pushing their way through waist-deep water, residents of the al-Shigla neighbourhood in Omdurman, twin city of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, have been seen trying desperately to rescue what was left of their possessions as they floated by.
Others stood by in despair, observing the aftermath of days of torrential rains that brought record-breaking flash floods to the country. The rain and flooding exceeded records set in 1946 and 1988, killing more than 100 people and forcing the government to declare a three-month state of emergency.
Pieces of furniture, broken tiles, damaged vehicles and more were washed away by this year’s rain that fell profusely and continuously for nearly two weeks.
A Sudanese food vendor Amna Ahmed, said she is usually prepared for the country’s rainy season, which lasts from June to October but didn’t anticipate its impact to be this severe. She is one of the thousands of people who lost their homes.
Despite losing “everything”, the 63-year-old is thankful that the devastating floods did not also take her life. “We lost everything. We lost our homes, furniture, clothes, and we were even about to lose our lives,” the mother of four told reporters
According to her, the Nile’s water levels increased drastically over the past few days, reaching a peak on Friday night. Since then, it has been overflowing, “demolishing everything” from homes to trees and cars.
A committee tasked with dealing with the ramifications of the floods, warned that the country may face more rains, adding that the water level in the Blue Nile rose to a record 17.58 metres. Experts claim climate change is a large part of the problem.
Authorities in Sudan have declared a national state of emergency and designated the country a natural disaster zone. The floods have so far impacted more than half-a-million people and caused the total and partial collapse of more than 100,000 homes in at least 16 Sudanese states.
According to the United Nations, Sudan’s Khartoum, Blue Nile and River Nile states are among the hardest-hit, while damage has also been reported in the Gezira, Gadarif, West Kordofan and South Darfur regions,
“We are in very critical situation. The government’s efforts to save us are nothing comparing to the size of the actual damage,” said Ahmed, who now sleeps in front of her destroyed house.
“What we now need is shelter, food, medicine and vaccines for the children,” she said.
The desperate cries are reflected in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, where tents have been put up to accommodate the displaced.
While the government managed to evacuate residents of 43 affected villages across the country, thousands of families in Khartoum were left to hold on to whatever they could save as they wait for the floods to subside.
Some families have been sleeping on whatever dry patches of land they can find, on sidewalks and in front of demolished homes.
Sudan’s civil defence force has also been attempting to dig a drainage channel meant to reduce Nile water levels, but that has so far been unsuccessful.
