Sudan: Arbaat Dam Collapse Requires Urgent Response

Arbaat Dam Collapse

About 50,000 people need urgent humanitarian assistance in Sudan’s Red Sea state due to the catastrophic failure of the Arbaat Dam.

Development Diaries reports that the Arbaat dam, which is a primary source of drinking water for Port Sudan, suffered heavy damage as a result of the unusually heavy rains.

We understand that this caused the entire dam reservoir to empty, resulting in a swath of death and destruction to at least 20 villages that washed away downstream.

The dam’s failure is also expected to impact the water supply of Port Sudan.

A delegation of the government reported that about 70 villages around the dam have been affected by the flash flooding caused by the dam’s failure.

Of the 13,000 families (65,000 people) living to the west of the dam, the homes of about 10,000 families (50,000 people) have either been destroyed or damaged. The affected people are in urgent need of water, food, and shelter assistance.

Sudan is currently in the midst of a war that has so far plunged millions into humanitarian need, destroying essential service facilities such as hospitals, roads, communication infrastructures, and water and sanitation facilities.

The floodwaters from the Arbaat dam, carrying significant amounts of silt, have led to the destruction of large areas of agricultural land further inducing loss of food items and crops.

Development Diaries calls on donor agencies and other development partners to urgently provide much-needed support in addressing the aftermath of the Arbaat dam flooding.

Photo source: Dabanga

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