When rains are a curse, not a blessing
Reporting by Abdulaziz Abdulmomin, Editing by Belinda Popovska
The World Food Programme (WFP) mobilized its emergency team to support flood victims across Sudan; using heavy-duty trucks to move food stocks to affected areas. Since June, WFP has assisted over 44,000 people with a combination of food items thanks to support from donors.
The rainy season in Sudan normally starts as early as May and extends to October. People, especially farmers, eagerly wait for its advent to begin their farming activities including cultivation of different types of food to cover their needs for the whole year. This year, however, nature has shown its unpleasant side; ruining their farms, destroying their homes and displacing significant numbers of people across the country.
It was a rare phenomenon this year, perhaps a visual sign of some of the impacts of climate change. The river water overflowed the banks and joined the heavy rainfall, creating torrential flash floods which wreaked havoc across the country, affecting more than 360,000 people, and resulting in 78 deaths. More than 70,000 homes in the Abyei area alone — State of West Kurdufan — were damaged or destroyed.
Some things must be seen to be believed; images cannot show the severity of the damage caused. Entire villages have been inundated and deserted by their inhabitants who hopelessly took refuge in nearby highlands. They lost everything to the floods, having fled with nothing but their will to survive.
The trip from Khartoum to this locality in White Nile State would normally take two hours — not this time. It took more than eight hours to reach some of the most hard-hit areas.
Affected populations now rely on emergency support from UN agencies and Non-Government Organizations for their survival. Life-saving food and nonfood items including tents, plastic sheets, blankets and mosquito nets are in high demand. They all share stories of loss and need for immediate assistance.
Kaltoum Mohamed, White Nile
“There is nobody to seek for help because everyone is going through the same experience.”
Sitting on a bag of sorghum, Kaltoum Mohamed waits with many others to receive a mixture of food items donated by USAID including lentils, cooking oil and salt at an emergency WFP food distribution site in Um Rimta locality, White Nile State. She will take her food ‘home’ possibly on a donkey cart or an auto rickshaw.
As a widow for several years, Kaltoum assumes sole responsibility of her four girls. With nowhere to go and no one to lean on for help, the floods washed away her only piece of stability, her home. She recalls moving quickly when the rains came, taking what she could of her belongings to a safer place to protect the family.
The family now live in a makeshift tent made of bed sheets that she now considers a temporary home.
“We moved from our home to a highland praying to God that it would not rain again. There is no body to seek for help because everyone is going through the same experience. We are all in the same boat,” said Kaltoum.
Omer, White Nile
“The flash flood started washing our belongings away including our stock of food that we stored from last year’s harvest.”
“As rain-fed farmers, we always pray for more rains. However, this time we prayed to God for it to stop,” says Omer, another victim of the floods and a father of eight children. The family currently lives in the open air with the grey cloudy sky as the only roof over their heads. They are waiting for help with materials to build a hut to live in until this is over.
“My children and I suffered a lot during the last few days. I have not seen anything like this in my life. The children were scared and started screaming. I did not know how to comfort them except to tell them it would not last long. But, as if the rain wanted to embarrass me, it continued to pour unabated. The flash flood started washing our belongings away including our stock of food that we stored from last year’s harvest,” said Omer.
That was the moment Omer felt the danger intensify and decided to leave. They took the lighter belongings and left the bulk behind. The house collapsed after they left it and the flood washed away all the memories of their home.
While they are grateful for the support from humanitarian agencies, they do not know when and how they can rebuild their lives.
Many other affected families, like Omer’s, are living in the open where the earth is muddy and the nights are cool. They know the rains may come again at any moment.
In anticipation of more rain until the end of October, WFP has pre-positioned and re-allocated food stocks to ensure rapid response to people affected by floods.
