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A dam in Sudan's northwest Red Sea State leaving at least 30 people dead according to the United Nations’s emergency relief agency. Hundreds more are believed missing.
Flash flooding decimated 20 villages and damaged a further 50 after the Arba’at Dam collapsed Sunday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. It estimated 50,000 people had been “severely affected” by the disaster.
In the villages of Khor-Baraka and Tukar, residents were reportedly forced to flee for safety, OCHA also said, citing local officials. It added that the final death toll could rise significantly.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) footage of the aftermath shows industrial trucks buried in mud and debris, some laden with crates and personal belongings. Other vehicles are almost unrecognizable on the silty riverbank.
Initial reports indicated torrential rains had caused the dam to breach, OCHAsaid, adding this had resulted in the reservoir behind it “being fully drained.” The dam facility supplies fresh water to Port Sudan, the country’s fifth largest city, which is about 38 kilometers (23 miles) to the southeast.
OCHA said the damage was expected to worsen the humanitarian situation in Red Sea State. In recent months, aid agencies have warned Sudan is on the brink of collapse and starvation following more than a year of civil war.
Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Haitham Muhammad Ibrahim, promised emergency humanitarian assistance including the provision of basic medicines and medical personnel during a visit to the region Sunday, according to a statement by his office. He also committed to provide resources to support evacuation efforts.
The region surrounding the Arba’at Dam has been wracked with humanitarian challenges. The region hosts nearly 240,000 displaced people, according to the United Nations International Organization for Migration.
