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Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
KHARTOUM, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) — Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses.
“Heavy rains have battered Abu Hamad city for nine hours, leading to significant property losses, which have not yet been counted,” the Sudanese Altaghyeer news website said.
An eyewitness in the city told Xinhua, on condition of anonymity, that at least 11 deaths were recorded inside the morgue of Abu Hamad Hospital, with dozens of injuries, due to the torrential rains and subsequent collapse of hundreds of homes.
The Abu Hamad Resistance Committee, a local popular group, said in a statement that the heavy rains and floods resulted in the collapse of about 70 percent of the homes with several injuries, including women, elderly people, and children, who were transferred to hospitals.
For his part, Al-Munzir Ahmed Al-Haj, a Sudanese meteorologist, confirmed on his Facebook page on Tuesday that 70 percent of the houses in Abu Hamad have collapsed due to the heavy rains.
According to eyewitnesses from the area, the gold grinding mills market in the city was also greatly affected.
Abu Hamad, some 538 km north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, is one of the largest gold exploration areas in Sudan. It has recently become a major economic center thanks to the gold exploration operations.
On Monday, Sudan’s Health Ministry announced that at least 32 people were killed and 107 others wounded due to the recent torrential rains and floods hitting several Sudanese states during June and July.
Flooding is a yearly occurrence in Sudan, typically happening between June and October. Over the past three years, heavy rains have claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed vast swathes of agricultural land.
This year’s rainy season has further compounded the hardships faced by those affected by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Sudan has been witnessing a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives.
An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to the UN data released on Monday. ■
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows buildings destroyed by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
People inspect a building destroyed by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan, on Aug. 6, 2024. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows a building destroyed by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2024 shows an area affected by floods in Abu Hamad city, northern Sudan. Heavy rains and floods have been hitting Abu Hamad city in the River Nile state, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 percent of the city’s houses and killing at least 11 people, according to local news outlets and eyewitnesses. (Photo by Emad Khalil/Xinhua)
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