More than 50,000 people whose livelihoods were shattered by floods that have swept across six states in Sudan need urgent assistance now, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socieites (IFRC) as it launches an emergency appeal seeking 1,923,503 Swiss Francs (USD 1,893,000/ EUR 1,291,550).
Entire communities in Khartoum were left without shelter when 20,000 homes from informal settlements were unable to hold out to the force of rushing waters after it rained incessantly for six hours on the 26th of August.
The heavy showers that have pounded the region for the last three weeks have also left a death toll of 20 people and injured 30 others due to collapsed buildings, electric shocks and drowning.
Extensive damage was also caused to infrastructure. Roads were submerged and left impassable by the torrential rains making the Sudanese Red Crescent emergency response difficult as they tried to reach remote villages. The existing water supply and sanitation systems were also impacted by the heavy rains leaving portions of the populations without safe drinking water.
The IFRC immediately released 224,000 Swiss Francs from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) to enable the Sudanese Red Crescent to initiate relief operations and address the immediate needs of food, shelter and health services. A Floods Task Force was set up to mobilize resources and coordinate response activities as well as enabling an assessment of the extent of damage to the affected areas.
Parcels of food were donated to 3,000 families in the Alfateh region while an additional 3,000 households in Suba Alaradi received relief kits consisting of tarpaulins, mattresses, clothes, kitchen sets, blankets and jerry cans. During the next 5 months the Red Crescent hopes to distribute additional relief kits to a total of 15,000 people, establish health mobile clinics, mobilize volunteers to senstize residents on safe hygiene practices as well as improve accessibility to safe drinking water.
“The risk of an outbreak of water borne diseases emanating from pools of stagnant water and collapsed latrines is imminent for thousands of people living in the capital if more aid is not forthcoming,” says Dr. Dietrich Ficher, head of IFRC’s delegation in Khartoum. Continued rainfall has been predicted in Khartoum and other parts of the Sudan indicating that the emergency is far from over.