ReliefWeb

Heavy rains trigger widespread flash flooding

Key messages

• About 4.6 million people in Sudan will continue to face Stressed (IPC Phase 2), Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity through September.
  Food security conditions are likely to improve when the harvest begins in October. To date, the agricultural season is progressing well.
• Above-average rains have triggered widespread flash floods in many parts of Sudan, affecting about 100,000 people to date. The floods damaged houses and property, washed out thousands of hectares of cropland, caused the death of thousands of animals, and a number of human casualties. The heavy rains also increase the potential that desert locusts will migrate from North and West Africa into Sudan, which could cause crop damage.
• The increased pattern of militia activity in North Darfur is raising serious concern and could trigger tribal clashes in some areas. Continued fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Darfur rebel groups is likely to cause more displacement, disturb cultivation and trade flows, and hinder the seasonal return of IDPs and refugees. In spite of the prevailing insecurity in Darfur, more IDPs have been engaged in cultivation this year than in the recent past. This is attributed to improved security in West Darfur, high grain prices during 2012, good rainfall this year to date, and reduced rations of food aid.