At least 90 killed in Sudan floods

At least 90 people have died and nearly 400,000 have been affected following severe flooding in Sudan.

The UN says heavy rains triggered flooding and a rise of the river Nile up to nearly 17.5 metres, the highest level in 100 years.

The organisation says access to clean water which is critical for hygiene during the coronavirus pandemic has also been affected.

Initial assessment by the UN say around 2,000 water sources have been contaminated or are broken.

The worst affected regions are in East Sudan, White Nile, Darfur and Khartoum where tens of thousands of internally displaced people are in urgent need of shelter and other emergency assistance

“In Khartoum state alone, more than 21,000 people have been affected by the flooding and on Sunday, the government declared a state of emergency in Khartoum.

“Across the country, as of 25 August, 380,000 people have been affected and 90 have been killed”, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at a briefing on Tuesday at the UN in Geneva.

The floods have also destroyed roads which have made it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to communities in dire need.