32 killed as heavy rains and floods hit central and eastern Sudan
August 28, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – The death toll from heavy rains across central, northern, and eastern Sudan has risen to 32, with nearly 4,000 people displaced and thousands of homes destroyed.
The severe rainfall, which struck on Wednesday, has overwhelmed the already weakened infrastructure that has sustained extensive damage during the ongoing conflict.
In a report, Colonel Abdallah Suleiman, the rapporteur for the Civil Defence operations room in the River Nile state, stated that “the rains claimed the lives of 23 people in the state: 11 in Al-Damer, nine in Shendi, and three in Berber.”
He explained that the rains also caused 11 injuries in the River Nile, destroyed two facilities and 290 homes, and inflicted partial damage on another 2,038 homes.
Elsewhere, the rains led to three deaths in al-Dinder, Sinnar state, while four people were killed in El Obeid, North Kordofan. One death was reported in both Gezira and Kassala states.
Sudan annually experiences heavy rains and flash floods in August and September, which cause significant damage to homes and agricultural lands and lead to the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera, malaria, and dengue fever.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that “rains and floods that hit villages in al-Rahad locality, al-Qadarif state in eastern Sudan, on Wednesday led to the displacement of approximately 2,800 individuals.”
The IOM noted that the rains destroyed 560 homes and partially damaged 100 others in the villages of Dar es Salaam, Umm Khair, and Bazura in al-Rahad.
In a separate statement, the organization explained that heavy rains and floods in several villages in the localities of al-Matammah, Shendi, and al-Damer displaced nearly 1,070 people. It reported that floods partially damaged 415 homes and destroyed 214 others in the area.
Some of the displaced have sought refuge in open areas, leaving them exposed to scorpions, snakes, rain, and cold, amid a weak and rapid response to provide them with shelter materials.
The European Commission’s humanitarian aid office predicted in a statement that more rain is expected over southern and central Sudan in the next 48 hours. It noted that Wednesday’s rainfall caused floods, resulting in casualties and widespread damage, with power outages and building collapses also being reported.