Thousands of people are stranded on the streets of Kassala in eastern Sudan as heavy rains compound the suffering of over a million Sudanese who sought refuge from a 15-month-old war. The rainy season, which began earlier this month, has already damaged shelters, rendered roads unusable, and put millions at risk of water-borne diseases across vast areas of the country.
The number of displaced people within Sudan has surpassed 10 million, continuing to rise as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expands its territory in the ongoing conflict with the national army. The war, which erupted in April 2023, has prompted warnings of famine and what the United Nations has labeled the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
According to the United Nations, approximately 765,000 people are sheltering in Gedaref state, and more than 255,000 people are in Kassala state, which experienced the worst of the rains over the weekend. The most recent wave of 165,000 people is from Sennar state, many of whom arrived on foot in the rain in recent weeks. Over 10,000 who arrived in Kassala city were crammed into the few remaining empty buildings, including a school courtyard and an empty hangar, both of which quickly flooded.
“We endured the sun beating down on us, but we can’t handle the rain,” said Nada Omer, a displaced person. Displaced individuals now wait under store awnings or tarps in the street, with heavier than usual rains expected to continue until September. Some have rejected plans to relocate them outside the city, where there would be few income opportunities, according to a government official and aid workers.
“We are waiting in the street and have nowhere to settle,” said Hussein Abdo, another displaced person. The UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, is working on identifying more suitable sites, but its efforts are only one-third funded.
At least five people have reportedly been killed due to the rains, according to the United Nations. Those who arrived earlier from Khartoum or El Gezira state, or in slightly drier al-Gedaref, are not much better off, sleeping on the floor in schools with few services and makeshift, shallow toilets that have also been flooded.
Little was done to prepare for the situation, said Plan International’s Mohammed Qazilbash. “We are coming up to 500 days of the war, and everybody is exhausted… It’s one tragedy over another over another,” he told Reuters.
The government and aid workers are bracing for an expected rise in water-borne diseases, including cholera, malaria, and dengue fever, with few medicines available to treat them.
