Dam Collapse Due to Heavy Rain in Eastern Sudan, Africa... "At Least 60 Dead"

Floods Amid Civil War... Over 100 Missing

At least 60 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed due to heavy rain in eastern Sudan.

On the 25th (local time), as the Arbat Dam in eastern Sudan collapsed causing numerous casualties, residents are salvaging boats from the muddy water to move. [Photo by AFP]

On the 26th (local time), the AP news agency reported that the Sudanese Ministry of Health issued a statement saying that at least 4 people died when the Arbat Dam in the Red Sea state in eastern Sudan collapsed due to heavy rain the previous day.

However, local media outlet Al-Tahir reported that at least 60 people have died and more are believed to be missing.

The outlet cited witnesses who said that when the dam collapsed, flooding destroyed many homes, cars were swept away, and residents evacuated to higher ground.

The Arbat Dam, where the accident occurred, is located 40 km north of Port Sudan, a coastal city on the Red Sea, and is a major freshwater source for Port Sudan.

Earlier on the 21st, the Sudanese Ministry of Health reported that flooding caused by the rainy season starting in June resulted in 114 deaths and 281 injuries across 10 states, with 27,278 households and 110,278 people displaced. Flood damage in Sudan recurs during the rainy season from June to October.

Currently, Sudan is suffering not only from natural disasters but also from a civil war that has lasted 17 months. The armed conflict between government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which escalated on April 15 last year, has worsened the humanitarian crisis, compounded by the flooding.

The conflict between the two sides has caused tens of thousands of deaths nationwide, and the number of displaced people fleeing violence has exceeded 10 million. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 10.7 million people have become displaced, of whom 2 million have fled abroad and become refugees.

With administrative functions paralyzed due to the civil war, flooding and poor sanitation conditions have recently led to the spread of cholera. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that since the first cholera case was confirmed in Sudan, over 650 infections have been confirmed in at least five states, with 28 deaths.