Humanitarian agencies and Sudanese authorities were working on deploying more teams to address the urgent needs of the people affected by the Sunday collapse of the Arba’at Dam, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported.

OCHA’s initial reports indicated that at least 30 people were killed when the dam, located approximately 38km northwest of Port Sudan in the Red Sea State, suffered extensive damage due to heavy rains. Scores of others were reportedly missing or displaced and the death toll was likely to be much higher.  

The UN agency said 84 boreholes had collapsed; 10,000 heads of livestock/animals were missing; and 70 schools were either damaged or destroyed.

More than 17,000 people have been affected by heavy rains and flooding in parts of western and eastern Sudan since the onset of the rainy season. This includes an estimated 10,700 flood-affected people in Kassala State, most of whom fled recent hostilities in Sennar State; about 5,600 people in North Darfur; an estimated 500 people in East Darfur and another 210 people in Kulbus, West Darfur. Five people died, including two minors while swimming in the Gash River, while five people were injured in Kassala State. The actual number of affected people is yet to be determined, as authorities and humanitarian partners continue to assess the impact of heavy rains and flooding among host communities, refugees, and IDPs who settled in Kassala after the war broke out in April 2023. Initial assessments indicate that 67 houses were destroyed in Kassala; 20 houses were destroyed and another 154 were damaged in Aroma; about 75 houses were destroyed and 72 damaged in Makaly village, and three houses were destroyed and 37 damaged in Gharb Kassala locality. In addition, flooding has affected 33 schools in Kassala State.

IGAD warns week of rainfall in South Sudan from May 21st to 28th 2024.