79 killed in Sudan floods since June

KHARTOUM, Sudan

At least 79 people have been killed in flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Sudan since June, according to a local official on Saturday.

Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, a spokesman of Sudan's National Council for Civil Defense, said dozens of homes were damaged by the floods.

"Most Sudan’s 18 states have been affected by the heavy rains, except Khartoum," he told Anadolu Agency.

On Sunday, the UN said nearly 136,000 Sudanese people have been affected by the floods and heavy rains in the country since June.

The rainy season in Sudan usually starts in June and lasts up to September, with the peak of rains and flooding observed between August and September.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, a move decried by political forces as a “military coup”.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara