Overflowing reservoirs of Eritrea worsened the situation; Gash River had also broken the surrounding embankments.
By Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker
Thousands of houses have been destroyed rendering the people homeless, as the torrential rains have been lashing the Sudan since June. The devastation has been caused during different spells of rains besides gushing water from the highlands of neighboring Eritrea. Several deaths have also been reported.
On the 28th and 29th of July, a new spell of heavy rains drenched Kassala town, in South Sudan causing flooding and considerable damage to homes in the poorer parts of town, where drainage systems were insufficient or non-existent.
The River Gash cuts much of its waters come from the highlands of neighboring Eritrea, where reservoirs holding huge amounts of water overflow after heavy rainfall, releasing a wild torrent that roars down the mountains into the “Mad Gash” and through Kassala town, so the next morning July 30 -began as any other day.
Children shouting on their way to school, cars and busses blowing their horns. No one realized the level of threat almost prophetically ‘the Mad Gash is threatening. The river had broken the surrounding embankment and the water was now reaching the peak. Moments later, an extraordinary sound could be heard; vehicles moving very fast, people running and women crying out for their children in the schools and kindergartens, and of course the rushing water. Mountains of water had suddenly burst both the west and the east banks of the River Gash. What followed was massive devastation – the worst flood disaster to strike the Sudan in human memory. Houses collapsed under the power of the floodwaters, electric and communication towers toppled. Tens of thousands of acres of agriculture were destroyed besides the livestock.
In the poorest communities whole villages had disappeared, as if wiped off the face of the earth. Perhaps most significantly, all roads leading in and out of Kassala were washed away. It was impossible to reach the flooded communities. U.N. agencies and international relief organizations were unable to reach the people in need. Even the Wali, the Governor, of Kassala found it impossible to reach the area by helicopter due to poor visibility as well, in the northern and northeastern neighborhoods of the town of Al-Nuhood (West Kordofan state) where 1500 to 2000 houses were destroyed. In North Kordofan.
In Sudan, the rainy season typically lasts from June to September/October, and often leads to widespread and persistent flooding. Sudan also suffers from underdeveloped infrastructure, especially in rural areas, which makes it harder to respond to natural disasters effectively.
In Sudan’s western Darfur region killed at least 12 people, including children, the U.N. and an aid group said.
According to foreign aid agencies, around ten thousand people have been affected by heavy rains and flooding in the provinces of South Kordofan, South Darfur, White Nile and Kassala since the beginning of the rainy season in June.
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Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker is a poet and writer from Omdurman Umbda -Sudan. He works as an English Instructor, Trainer and Freelance Interpreter. He also has been working as a debate leader discussing various topics in many English Institutes, Centers, Academy and schools.
