STORY: Heavy rains aggravate plight of displaced people in E. Sudan
SHOOTING TIME: July 26, 2024
DATELINE: July 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:00
LOCATION: KASSALA, Sudan
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of flooded areas in Kassala 

STORYLINE:

Heavy rains continued to batter Kassala, the capital city of Kassala State in eastern Sudan on Friday, worsening the plight of thousands of displaced people residing in the city's shelter centers, as reported by local organizations.

The Kassala Youth Emergency Room, a local volunteer group, appealed in a statement to authorities and residents in Kassala to provide water suction pumps and assist in draining rainwater from shelter centers.

It warned of a "catastrophic situation" in some centers, noting that rainwater had completely flooded three of them, severely hindering access to food, medicine, and clean drinking water for displaced individuals.

The Nidaa Al-Wasat Initiative, a civil society organization, warned of the severe risks facing children, women and the elderly, calling for the provision of relief aid to the displaced.

Over the past week, Kassala State has witnessed heavy rains that have destroyed about 1,470 homes in Kassala locality and its suburbs, said Khidir Ramadan, director general of Kassala State's Ministry of Agriculture.

Flooding is an annual occurrence in Sudan, typically happening between June and October. Over the past three years, heavy rains have claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed vast swathes of agricultural land.

This year's rainy season is bringing even more hardship to people already caught in the deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Data published by the UN International Organization for Migration in June showed that more than 7.7 million individuals had been internally displaced within Sudan since the conflict began, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kassala, Sudan.
(XHTV)