Floods in Sudan hit capital Khartoum hard, dozens dead

Rising floodwaters have hit Sudan's capital hard in recent days, as weeks of heavy flooding nationwide left at least 90 people dead, destroying tens of thousands of homes, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

Sudan's military said on Sunday it deployed troops to help evacuate people and build barricades in Khartoum, as well as, distribute food, after flooding there cut roads and swept away houses and belongings. 

Footage circulated online showing residents of Khartoum erecting barricades and other shields as water from the Nile River swept through several districts.

Flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan, including the capital, since late July, injuring around four dozen people and damaging or destroying 57,000 houses nationwide, the Interior Ministry said.

More than 380,000 people in all but one of Sudan’s 18 provinces have been affected by heavy rainfall and flooding since the start of the rainy season in July, according to official statistics.

READ MORE: Floods in Sudan kill over 60 since July

Families seeking shelter

Most of the affected families were forced to seek shelter with relatives and host communities, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The flooding also damaged at least 43 schools and 2,671 health facilities across the country. At least 2,000 water sources have been contaminated or are now non-functional, the UN said.

Also late last month, seasonal rainfall and flooding caused the collapse of the Bout Dam in the southeastern Blue Nile province. 

The collapse released 5 million cubic metres of water and flooded at least 13 neighbourhoods in the town of Bout.

Between July and August last year, flooding killed a total of 78 people in 16 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to the UN.