Reference :
V-P-SD-E-02681
Date :
19/09/2022
Caption :
South Darfur, Um Zaiedd village. "Water came inside the house; it broke everything and now I have many cracks in the walls. All my beds are broken, and all my jerry cans have been carried away by the flow. I didn’t manage to recover anything. And now we sit in the water,” says this resident.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC AV news, 05/10/2022
Following heavy rains and flash floods in Sudan, tens of thousands of homes, boreholes and agricultural fields have been destroyed or damaged over the past months. 80,000 families need humanitarian assistance estimates the Sudanese Red Crescent (SRCS).
“It is the first time this is so bad. The water came through the windows and reached as high as 1.5 meters,” says Ismail Daoud Abbas, from Um Zaiedd village in South Darfur. Abbas’ family now lives in a makeshift shelter after their home was destroyed.
The floods have damaged essential infrastructure, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera. “The water came under the control room and the borehole collapsed, and all the water pipes broke. Now, nobody drinks clean water because of the damage. Only polluted water is available,” says Attahir Mohammed Jabari, a community leader in Um Zaiedd.
The flooding of agricultural fields has increased the threat of hunger for millions of people. “All the agricultural fields were flooded. Our boreholes are damaged. Our mango and guava trees have also been affected,” says Ismail Daoud Abbas.
Communities facing not only climate shocks but also conflict and violence face poor harvests and skyrocketing food prices. Over the past year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recorded an 187% increase in the price of basic food items in conflict-affected areas of Sudan where it works. This brutal inflation is still rising.
“This season is different from the past seasons. Our oldest people say that nothing like this has happened since the ‘80s,” said Murtada Adam Fadul, the head of SRCS branch in Nyala, South Darfur.
The ICRC with support of SRCS plans to provide essential households items and cash to some 45’600 people by end of October. In September 9’600 people in Kass and South Jebel Marra already received essential items. The two organizations are also working to improve access to clean water for 30,000 people, out of which 70% are women and children. They promote hygiene among the affected communities and provide medical supplies for the treatment of waterborne diseases and malaria.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
7505x5006
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
