Flooding Leaves Thousands Homeless In Southeastern Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug 6, 2003 (AP)–Heavy rain and river floods swept the southeastern Sudanese state of El-Gedaref, leaving thousands of families homeless and devastating hundreds of farms.

There were no reports of deaths.

The local government declared El-Gedaref a disaster area and called on the central government to send aid.

Moussa Bashir Moussa, representative of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said floods during the past two days left several towns and villages isolated, destroyed 625 houses, left 3,000 families homeless, and inundated six villages and vast cultivated areas.

Moussa told The Associated Press after flying over El-Gedaref, 360 kilometers southeast of Khartoum, that the stranded and homeless had found shelter in schools and refugee camps.