Date | 24 July 2024 –ongoing |
---|---|
Location | Kassala State, Gezira State, East Darfur, North Kordofan [1] |
Cause | Heavy rainfall |
Deaths | 68+ |
Non-fatal injuries | 7+ |
Property damage |
|
In 2024, the North African country of Sudan experienced flooding caused by heavy rainfall. Flooding beginning in July caused the deaths of at least twelve people, with seven more people injured and at least 12,506 people in total affected. [2] [3]
Flooding during 2024 was significant due to its concurrence with the Sudanese civil war and its resulting humanitarian crisis causing the internal displacement of millions of Sudanese citizens, exacerbating the damages caused by the floods to already-vulnerable populations. [4]
As of late-March 2024, an estimated 7.2 million Sudanese citizens were internally displaced as a result of nationwide conflict and war crimes committed during the Sudanese civil war beginning in 2023. [5] The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that all of Sudan's 18 states experienced displacement, with most refugees coming from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, which accounted for "about 69 percent of the total number of displaced people, followed by West Darfur with more than 17 percent". [4]
The vulnerability of displaced citizens was especially prominent in the Darfur region, where attacks on hospitals, widespread looting, and blockades on several cities preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid and other resources caused major shortages of medical supplies and food.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) predicted that from 24 July to 31 July, an estimated 13.4 million Sudanese people in the Eastern and Western regions of Sudan would face "exceptionally heavy rainfall". The ICPAC's Disaster Operations Centre (DOC) issued warnings in these regions and especially in Kassala, urging civilians to relocate to higher ground. The center noted that insufficient maintenance of the banks and tributaries of the Mereb River, as well as of water channels in Kassala would greatly worsen the amount of flooding and damage to infrastructure caused by the heavy rainfall. [6]
The Kassala Meteorological Department recorded that 118 mm (4.6 in) of rain fell in Kassala, 95 mm (3.7 in) fell in Wad Sheriffe, and 74 mm (2.9 in) fell in Gharb Kassala on 25 to 26 July, which were the highest rainfall amounts in several years for each region. [6]
From 23 to 25 July 2024, the IOM reported that storms across North Darfur produced heavy rainfall, causing flooding that destroyed roughly 1,018 houses in the town of Zamzam located in the Al-Fashir locality, displacing their households. 149 houses suffered partial damage, and 816 latrines were destroyed. The Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons Camp was primarily affected by the flooding. [7]
Flooding in Kassala State affected 10,180 people or more, of whom most were displaced citizens that recently arrived from Sennar State, and were located at five reception centers in the Gharb Kassala locality. Many of the impacted were shelterless and lived next to roads, rendering them more susceptible to flooding and water-borne illnesses. The flooding damaged several water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, and submerged roads and displacement tents. At least five deaths were reported in the region, three of whom drowned in the Mereb River, and one child dying at an IDP camp. Flooding also impacted people in the Reifi Kassala, Shamal Al Delta, Aroma, and Gharb Kassala localities. [6] Many displacement shelters were heavily flooded due to not having drains installed and due to flooded latrines, destroying and contaminating food, blankets, clothes, and many other essential supplies. [8] [9]
Flooding on 25 to 26 July displaced roughly 500 people and destroyed 100 houses in Aroma town located in the Reifi Aroma locality. [6] On 26 July, 85 houses were "completely destroyed" and 35 more were "partially destroyed" in Al Koma, while twenty-two houses were destroyed and thirteen more partially so in Ghibash village, displacing about 107 households in the Al Koma locality altogether. [10]
On 13 August 2024, Sudan's Interior Ministry reported that at least 68 people have been killed due to extensive flooding, and called the floods the worst in the nation since 2019. At least 44,000 civilians were displaced by the flooding since 1 July. Over 12,000 houses and 198,000 feddans of farmland (~205,500 acres) were damaged or destroyed due to the floods. [11]
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
The Government of Sudan is the federal provisional government created by the Constitution of Sudan having executive, parliamentary, and the judicial branches. Previously, a president was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a de jure multi-party system. Legislative power was officially vested in both the government and in the two houses – the National Assembly (lower) and the Council of States (upper) – of the bicameral National Legislature. The judiciary is independent and obtained by the Constitutional Court. However, following the Second Sudanese Civil War and the still ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan was widely recognized as a totalitarian state where all effective political power was held by President Omar al-Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP). However, al-Bashir and the NCP were ousted in a military coup on April 11, 2019. The government of Sudan was then led by the Transitional Military Council (TMC). On 20 August 2019, the TMC dissolved giving its authority over to the Transitional Sovereignty Council, who were planned to govern for 39 months until 2022, in the process of transitioning to democracy. However, the Sovereignty Council and the Sudanese government were dissolved in October 2021.
On 3 July 2007, flash floods during Sudan's rainy season devastated much of the country's central, southern, and western regions. The Sudanese government referred to the floods as the "worst in living memory".
The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a northern affiliate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan. After some years of relative calm following the 2005 agreement which ended the second Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese government and SPLM rebels, fighting broke out again in the lead-up to South Sudan independence on 9 July 2011, starting in South Kordofan on 5 June and spreading to the neighboring Blue Nile state in September. SPLM-N, splitting from newly independent SPLM, took up arms against the inclusion of the two southern states in Sudan with no popular consultation and against the lack of democratic elections. The conflict is intertwined with the War in Darfur, since in November 2011 SPLM-N established a loose alliance with Darfuri rebels, called Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).
Continuous and heavy rains in much of Sudan, starting in early August 2013, resulted in flood damage in at least 14 of 18 Sudanese states. Over 300,000 people are reported to have been affected, with over 25,000 homes reported destroyed. Government agencies report that nearly 50 people have been killed.
From July to November 2018, Sudan experienced extensive flooding due to extreme rainfall. The most affected states were Kassala, West Kordofan, and Khartoum. By August 16, at least 23 people had been killed and over 60 injured. By November 5, over 19,640 homes had been destroyed, and an estimated 222,275 people had been affected.
In September 2020, profuse and continuous rainfall in Sudan caused a devastating flood across 17 out of the 18 states Sudanese states with the Blue Nile reaching water levels not seen for nearly a century. It ranks among the most severe floods recorded in the region. A state of emergency was declared, and teams have worked to prevent damage to threatened archaeological sites. The flood affected more than 3,000,000 people, destroyed more than 100,000 homes, and left more than 100 people dead.
In 2021, Niger has been affected by subsequent floods due to heavy rains, causing several deaths and widespread damage nationwide. Niamey is the most affected area. At least 62 people died, 60 were injured and 105,690 individuals have been affected by the floods. Most fatalities were reported in Maradi Region with 18 deaths.
From January 31 to February 1, 2022, heavy rainfall impacted Ecuador, which caused multiple landslides, floods, and mudflows. It was caused by the country's biggest rainfall in nearly 20 years, which fell on the capital.
The 2022 Sudan floods saw the figure for flood-affected people in Sudan had exceeded the figure for 2021, rising to 314,500. From 2017 to 2021, there were 388,600 people affected by floods annually.
In July, September, and October 2022, clashes broke out between the Hausa people and Funj and Berta peoples over land disputes in the Blue Nile state in southeastern Sudan, particularly the contentious establishment of a Hausa emirate in Blue Nile State. Over the course of several attacks and massacres, hundreds of civilians were killed up until the violence ended in January 2023. These clashes led to numerous casualties, mass displacement, and the imposition of a state of emergency in parts of Blue Nile State.
An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war. By June 2024, around 2.1 million people have fled the country, while around 12 million have been internally displaced within Sudan; these numbers include at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals, making the refugee and displacement crisis in Sudan the largest in African history.
From February to late-December 2023, floods killed over 2,600 people in 15 countries across Africa.
The siege of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between 15 and 20 April 2023, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until 12 May. Clashes broke out again between 12 and 29 May, and ended with a more stable ceasefire that lasted until August. By September, the city had become a haven for refugees across the region, without enough food and water.
Tawila or Tawilah is a town in North Darfur State, Sudan.
The following lists events during 2024 in the Republic of the Sudan.
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Throughout 2024, the population of Sudan suffered from severe malnutrition and human-made famine conditions as a result of the Sudanese civil war beginning in 2023, primarily in Darfur, Kordofan, and neighboring refugee-taking nations such as Chad. Famine conditions were caused in part by deliberate attempts by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to siege and loot cities with civilians trapped in them and by both sides blocking off supply routes to allow food and humanitarian aid to flow through. On August 1, the Global Famine Review Committee released a report officially declaring that there was a high risk of IPC Phase 5 famine conditions ongoing throughout internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Darfur near Al-Fashir.
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