Sudan to relocate residents of a village destroyed by the floods
August 11, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The authorities in Sudan’s Jezira state are planning to relocate the residents of the village number 38 in Um Al-qura locality who were displaced by the heavy rains which completely flooded their homes.
The technical and engineering teams have embarked on a field survey for the new location of the village. The affected villagers will be moved to the new location and accommodated in temporary tents.
The mayor has disclosed that 47 villages were affected by the heavy rains which flooded 15 villages completely and destroyed 2,000 homes as well as dozens of sewage systems.
He pointed that the locality has taken the necessary measures to aid the affected, saying that heavy machineries were used to dispose of the accumulated water.
The governor of Jezira, for his part, called for mobilizing youth groups, civil society organizations, and students associations as well as harnessing all state’s technical and material capabilities to aid and support the affected, stressing his government’s commitment to furnish them with a decent livelihood and health care.
He announced that several technical and engineering measures will be applied in the coming period in order to prevent floods, urging citizens to remain vigilant and immediately report to the emergency rooms in their localities and administrative units.
The heavy rains and floods that hit different areas in Sudan in the past few days have lead to the death of at least 48 people and injured dozens as well as destroying thousands of homes. Many ordinary citizens voiced rage over poor preparations by the government and inadequate response to the floods.
Meanwhile, the Civil Defense Council in the Nile state announced that 36 people were killed as a result of the floods and that 5,000 homes have collapsed either partially or completely. This has caused 1,600 families to be homeless, it added.
Furthermore, the state revealed that 33 islands are threatened with rising waters and disclosed that planes are dropping food to affected citizens.
The pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website reported that authorities are working to evacuate 45 gold miners are held up by flood waters in the region east of Obaidiya in Brier locality over an area of up to 100 miles on the borders between the Nile River and the Red Sea states.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that initial estimates are that at least 26,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed in the heavy rains which swept Sudan this month.
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society and the Commission for Voluntary and Humanitarian Work estimated yesterday that 98,500 people have been affected in Khartoum, River Nile, Blue Nile, North Darfur, South Darfur, Northern and Red Sea states between 1 and 4 August.
The states in Sudan that were most affected included Khartoum (56,000), River Nile (33,000), West Kordofan (12,000), North Darfur (8,000), Blue Nile (6,000), Red Sea (3,000), Northern (1,000) and South Darfur (1,000).
But the volunteer youth group, Nafeer, gave a much higher estimate on Friday before the latest heavy rains.
Nafeer said in a statement that at least 14,517 houses and more than 72,000 people were affected in four districts alone on the edge of Khartoum. The figures it said was based on research that included questionnaires completed by people affected by the floods.
The group said that urgent needs for the affected population include clean water, dried milk, cookware, rechargeable batteries, mattresses, sheets, covers, clothes and 4WD drive vehicles for emergency calls.
Drainage is poor in the capital of Sudan, where even a little rain can cause flooding, but this year’s water surge was unusually severe.
Yesterday authorities said that ten people were killed including eight family members as in Sudan’s twin capital of Omdurman and thousands of homes were damaged.
Many Sudanese live in one-room homes built of mud bricks which can easily wash away.
OPPOSITION SLAMS GOVERNMENT NEGLIGENCE
The coalition of opposition parties known as National Consensus Forces (NCF) lambasted the government for inadequately providing for flood victims.
The NCF spokesman Kamal Omer said that the government lost is legitimacy over the loss of lives and property of its citizens caused by the heavy rains. He also accused Khartoum of blocking aid to victims.
Another NCF figure Sate’ al-Haj said that they toured East Nile locality in Khartoum on Saturday and saw people there sleeping in the open in “miserable condition” after losing their homes.
Al-Haj said the situation is a warning for an upcoming disaster for hundreds of people without any signs of resolution. He said that parties will open their headquarters to aid affected citizens.
QATAR TO AIRLIFT AID TO FLOOD VICTIMS
Sudan official news agency (SUNA) reported that starting Monday, Qatar will airlift aid to Sudan upon the orders of the Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
This was communicated in a phone conversation between Qatar’s Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser al Thani and Sudanese interior minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed, the agency said.
Also on Thursday, the Japanese government said it will provide emergency relief goods (water purifiers, sleeping pads, etc) worth 16 million JPY to Sudan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in response to the request from Khartoum.
(ST)