UN says floods, heavy rainfall in Sudan kill 78 people

Mary Keller, head of monitoring and reporting at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says the deaths were caused by collapsed rooftops and electrocution.

Sudanese people carry their belongings as they wade through the flood waters near the River Nile in Khartoum localities, Sudan on September 2, 2019 .
Reuters

Sudanese people carry their belongings as they wade through the flood waters near the River Nile in Khartoum localities, Sudan on September 2, 2019 .

A UN humanitarian agency says flooding triggered by heavy rains in Sudan have killed a total of 78 people across the country in the past two months.

Mary Keller, head of monitoring and reporting at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Saturday that the deaths were mainly caused by collapsed rooftops and electrocution.

She says that more than 41,000 homes have been destroyed and that the floods have affected 346,300 people in 16 of Sudan's 18 provinces.

She has warned that the death toll may increase due to the high risk of waterborne illnesses.

Authorities have said in August that more than 3,600 cattle died as large swathes of agricultural land flooded.

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