| Worst-ever flooding in Sudan |
| SCI-TECH | |||||
| By Agencies | |||||
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Flood waters continued to rise on Thursday and as many as 18,000 homes have been partially or completely destroyed, according to the head of the country's civil defence. Flood water from the Nile River has devastated villages in Sudan's east, south east and around Khartoum, the capital, over the last few weeks.
"With the season expected to run until mid-October, meteorological organisations in the region are predicting that as many as 2.4 million people across 16 states could be affected," the organisation said. The Red Cross appealed for $1.75 million to help some 40,000 Sudanese whose homes have been destroyed in flash floods. Each year, from around June to September, the rainy season causes floods in Sudan, which is mostly desert at other times of the year. Last year about 10,000 houses were destroyed during about four months of rains causing the river Nile to burst its banks. Ali blamed global warming for the worsening rains. Levels of the Nile in Khartoum last year were higher than in 1988 and 1946 when the worst floods of the last century hit Sudan.
Tags: Sudan |
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