FILE PIC: Sudan floods. /Xinhua
FILE PIC: Sudan floods. /Xinhua
Flooding across Sudan has killed at least 20 people over the past week, Sudanese officials announced Thursday, raising the official death-toll from the floods since the rainy season began in May to 134.
The office of Brig. Gen. Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, the leader of Sudan's National Council for Civil Defense, said an additional 120 people were injured from the past week's flooding.
Torrential downpours throughout August and early September — the peak of Sudan's rainy season have washed away roads, houses, and vital infrastructure across the country, cutting off supply lines to rural areas in need of humanitarian aid.
According to the United Nations' latest flooding report, some 286,400 people have been affected by the floods and 16,900 homes have been destroyed. The civil defense council said this year's deaths included 74 people who drowned, 32 who died when their homes collapsed, and six who were killed in water-related electrocutions.
(With input from agencies)