Rhino: Agencies – Heavy rains and floods have hit the city of Abu Hamad in the Nile River State, northern Sudan, since Monday evening, destroying nearly 70 per cent of the city’s homes and killing at least 11 people, according to local media and eyewitnesses.

“Heavy rains hit the city of Abu Hamad for nine hours, resulting in significant property losses, which have not yet been counted,” Sudanese news website Change said.

An eyewitness in the city told Xinhua news agency that at least 11 deaths were recorded inside the refrigerator of Abu Hamad hospital, and dozens of injuries, due to the heavy rains and the subsequent collapse of hundreds of houses.

The Abu Hamad Resistance Committee, a local popular group, said in a statement that heavy rains and floods led to the collapse of about 70 per cent of houses, and injured a number of citizens, including women, the elderly and children, who were taken to hospitals.

Sudanese meteorological expert, al-Munther Ahmed al-Hajj, confirmed on his Facebook page on Tuesday that 70 per cent of the houses in Abu Hamad city had collapsed due to heavy rains.

Eyewitnesses from the area reported that the city’s gold mills market was also heavily affected.

Abu Hamad, located 538 km north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, is one of the largest gold mining areas in Sudan, and has recently turned into a major economic center thanks to gold mining operations.

On Monday, the Sudanese Ministry of Health announced that at least 32 people were killed, and 107 others were injured as a result of heavy rains and floods that hit several Sudanese states in June and July.

Flooding is an annual event in Sudan, usually occurring between June and October. Over the past three years, heavy rains have killed hundreds and destroyed vast tracts of farmland.

This year’s rainy season has exacerbated the difficulties faced by those affected by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan has been witnessing a bloody conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 15 April 2023, killing at least 16,650 people.

According to UN estimates released on Monday, the number of internally displaced people in Sudan has reached about 10.7 million, while another 2.2 million are seeking refuge in neighboring countries.