Sudan: Food Aid Needed for Flood Victims in Eastern Sudan's Kassala

Kassala — The heavy flooding in parts of Kassala state in mid and late July has affected 27,735 people. The flood victims in Hameshkoreib need more food aid.

Mohamed Eisa, Deputy Commissioner of Hameshkoreib locality in Kassala state, told Radio Dabanga that the food aid that reached the people affected by the floods "is not sufficient for more than three days.

"Hameshkoreib is facing a severe shortage of food. The goods still present in the homes and shops may be consumed soon because the roads are blocked by the flooding."

He said that he fears a worsening of the crisis, not only because the strategic food reserves will run out, but also because of the lack of humanitarian assistance.

Activist Ibrahim El Sheikh told Radio Dabanga on Friday that the heavy rainfall and the ensuing flooding caused a complete paralysis of traffic in Kassala town. He pointed to the lack of a drainage system in the state.

The road between Kassala and Port Sudan remains closed. "The closure has harmed the interests of the residents. State authorities should act quickly to repair the road," listener Ahmed Hassan Dirar reported to this station.

He said that all schools in Aroma locality have been closed because of the floods. The part north of the Delta is severely affected.

Assessment

According to the governmental Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the heavy flooding in parts of Kassala state in mid and late July has affected 27,735 people.

Plastic sheets and mosquito nets were distributed by HAC to 100 families affected by flooding which occurred earlier in July, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its latest weekly bulletin.

People affected by the most recent flooding are in need of shelter materials, emergency food supplies, health assistance and water, according to an assessment team composed of HAC, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) , the governmental Water and Environment Sanitation Department, as well as Unicef, UNHCR, and the World Food Programme, which visited Aroma, one of the flood-affected localities.

Government and humanitarian partners will work together to respond to the needs in flood-affected parts of Kassala including Aroma and Hameshkoreib localities, the OCHA bulletin reads.