At least 9 people killed in latest East Sudan floods

Oxfam Ireland Press Release
21 July 2007

Tens of thousands of people at risk of homelessness and disease.

An Oxfam assessment mission to villages near Tokar, a town in Sudan's eastern Red Sea State, has reported at least nine people killed and more than 10,000 people left without any access to clean water. The floods are now thought to have killed around 100 people across Sudan.

"The need in Red Sea State is enormous and urgent. There is a real concern that there will be outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea," said Caroline Nursey, Oxfam's Sudan Programme Manager.

At least 14 villages in the area of Dollabayai, at the mouth of the Tokar delta, have been affected. Animals such as camels and donkeys have been swept away; all the area's water points have been flooded; and most people have abandoned their homes and are sheltering wherever they can find high ground.

Nearby Tokar town is now surrounded by floodwaters. Oxfam is working closely with local government authorities and communities to try and strengthen the town's defences, through distributing sandbags and tools.

"The rains are still coming and the waters still rising. If the floods were to enter the town itself, then 35,000 people would be at risk," said Nursey.

In 2006, the area around Tokar town was hit by severe flooding and is only just beginning to recover. Oxfam has reinforced many of the wells that serve the town. As others have been destroyed by the new flooding, these reinforced wells are now the town's only remaining source of clean water.

Water supply to Port Sudan - Sudan's second largest city - is also under threat. The dams that provide all of the city's fresh water are full and in danger of bursting.

"The areas that we have been able to assess show the enormous devastation caused by the floods. But there are many other areas that are completely inaccessible, meaning nobody knows the full extent of the damage or impact on the people there," added Nursey.

The vast South Tokar area has not been accessible since the floods first hit. The road has been submerged and the bridge swept away.

For further information, please contact:

Oxfam, Sudan
Alun McDonald - Tel: (Sudan) +249 912 391657 ; Satellite phone: +88 216 51129087 amcdonald@oxfam.org.uk

Oxfam Ireland
Paul Dunphy on 01 6350422 | 0879058075 | paul.dunphy [at] oxfamireland.org &
Phillip Graham on 048 90 57 2891 | phillip.graham [at] oxfamireland.org

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