At least 30 dead after dam collapse disaster in Sudan

According to the UN emergency relief agency, a dam collapse in Sudan's northwestern Red Sea State has killed at least 30 people. Reuters reports that hundreds more are believed to be missing. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that flooding from the collapse of the Arbaat Dam on Sunday submerged 20 villages and damaged another 50. It is estimated that the disaster has "severely affected" 50,000 people.

Residents in the villages of Khor-Baraka and Tokar were forced to flee to seek safety, according to local officials. OCHA also said that the final death toll is likely to rise significantly. Post-disaster footage from AFP showed industrial trucks buried in mud and debris, some of them loaded with crates and personal belongings. Other vehicles were barely recognizable, strewn across the muddy riverbanks.

Musa Mohamed Musa, a resident living near the dam, described in another AFP video that "the dam burst and the water swept away about 40 people." He also stated, "In the Tabub area where I come from...they told me that all the houses and everything have been swept away." Another resident, Ali Issa, was filmed saying that he had helped rescue families, the elderly, and children trapped in cars.

Ali Issa said, "We came to the area to check the situation, but we could not reach the Arbaat Dam because of the strong water current." OCHA stated that initial reports indicate that heavy rains caused the dam to breach, which led to the "complete emptying" of its reservoir. The dam facility provides fresh water to Port Sudan, the fifth-largest city in Sudan, located approximately 38 kilometers to the southeast.

Many senior Sudanese officials and civilians have fled to Port Sudan since a brutal conflict broke out in the country in April 2023. The war has plunged Sudan into a humanitarian crisis, pitting the country's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The army's top general traveled to Red Sea State on Sunday. In a video posted on social media by the military, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan walked through muddy plains to a flooded valley and met with first responders.

The war has devastated civilian infrastructure and the already battered healthcare system. It has killed thousands and left many facing starvation, with famine confirmed in a destroyed displacement camp in the northern Darfur region. According to the International Organization for Migration, over 10.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the fighting began. More than 2 million of them have fled to neighboring countries.

Recently, a cholera outbreak triggered by flooding and poor sanitation has killed at least 20 people. The World Health Organization said on Friday that more than 650 cases and 28 deaths have been reported in five states in the month since the first suspected case of cholera was reported. The WHO said that an initial cholera vaccination campaign in Kassala, eastern Sudan, has covered over 50,000 people. It stated that it is shipping over 450,000 additional doses of oral cholera vaccine.

Seasonal flooding has exacerbated the country's crisis by destroying critical infrastructure. A government report stated on Monday that floods have inundated large parts of the country in the past two months, killing more than 130 people and causing more than 23,000 homes to collapse or be damaged. Dams in Sudan help manage seasonal rainfall in the country's largely desert climate. According to the news website Al-Tagheer, the Arbaat Dam, located about 34 kilometers from the Red Sea, is used to store spring and rainwater, with a reservoir capacity of 25 million cubic meters.

According to local media reports, the dam breached on Saturday night after heavy rains. Information from the area has been difficult to collect due to mobile network disruptions.