By Richard Sultan
More than 60 people are reportedly dead, and scores are still missing two days after the collapse of Arba’at Dam, 38 kilometers northwest of Port Sudan in Sudan’s Red Sea State.
According to an update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Sudan, the dam suffered extensive damage due to heavy rains leading to the dam’s reservoir being fully drained, causing damage to life and property in about 20 villages downstream, severely affecting up to 50,000 people living in areas to the west of the dam.
According to ongoing assessments by authorities and humanitarian partners in some of the affected areas, the impact of the dam’s collapse will be substantial.
“The Arba’at Dam is a crucial facility for Port Sudan, serving as a primary source of freshwater for the city. The reported damage is expected to have a substantial impact on water supplies to Port Sudan, the seat of the government,” according to the UNOCHA update.
Ali Omar Taha, a 39-year-old trader who ran from Khartoum to Port Sudan at the peak of the conflict, told Amjambo Africa that the only source of updates about the collapse of the dam is government officials.
“With the road network and communication lines not working, it is hard for us to get first-hand information. We are all anxious because we have friends, and loved ones there,” Taha said.
After more than a year of the war, between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), an estimated 10.7 million people (2.1 million families) are now internally displaced in Sudan.
About 25.6 million people – over half of the population of Sudan – face acute hunger, including more than 755,000 people on the brink of famine, according to latest analysis
The dam’s collapse adds to the humanitarian impact of the widespread flooding caused by heavy rainfall, which has been affecting Sudan since July, according to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Prior to the dam’s collapse, floods in Sudan had displaced at least 118,000 people, and 317,000 were already affected across 16 of the 18 Sudanese states. The worst affected states are Khartoum, Gezira, Kordofan and Darfur.The floods also contribute to the spread of waterborne diseases. In August, the World Health Organization
reported at least 11,327 cholera cases in Sudan, 316 of them deadly, since June 2023.
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Damages Caused
UNOCHA further said a government delegation that visited the area around Arba’at Dam reported 70 villages affected by the flash flooding, of which 20 villages have been destroyed. Of the 13,000 families (65,000 people) living to the west of the Arba’at 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. 30 people were killed by the floods, but actual numbers are likely much higher; 84 boreholes have collapsed; 10,000 heads of livestock/animals are missing; and 70 schools have been either damaged or destroyed as rescue teams attempt to open roads,” according to the government delegation.
Additionally reports indicate that scores of people are reportedly missing or displaced. The
floodwaters, carrying significant amounts of silt, have led to the destruction
of large areas of agricultural land and substantial damage to civilian
infrastructure across the affected areas.
“Some residents of the villages downstream of the Arba’at Dam were reportedly forced to flee to the mountains for safety, while others were evacuated after floodwaters destroyed their homes and inundated the affected areas stressing that reports from the ground indicates that floodwaters caused damage to telecommunication networks, water and power supplies, and road access in the impacted areas. Damage to the telecommunication network has made it difficult to gather more and accurate information on the situation,” according to UNOCHA.
Collapse Health Care System
According to CARE Sudan, the conflict between the RSF and the SAF has propagated the world’s largest hunger crisis, with millions facing famine conditions. As fighting shows no signs of abating, the future of Sudan remains bleak and uncertain.
“The situation is catastrophic, and the world must stop turning a blind eye to the escalating devastation and suffering,” warns Abdirahman Ali, CARE Sudan Country Director, adding that the war has shattered the healthcare system, leaving countless without care. Aid workers struggle to reach those in desperate need of help, and food prices soar as farms remain bare due to a missed planting season. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted, facing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that has them living in constant fear.”
With over 75% of health centers destroyed, countless Sudanese have been left without access to essential medical services, exacerbating the suffering of an already vulnerable population.
“Conflict, hunger, disease, and floods have left millions trapped in devastation and are killing Sudanese by the day,” said Abdirahman Ali.
“The world is 500 days late to silence the guns, allow peace to prevail, and scale up the response to growing humanitarian needs in Sudan.”
Aid Distribution Hampered
Humanitarian convoys bound for Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan, especially via the Adré crossing at the Sudan-Chad border, which was recently opened for aid, face the additional challenge of damage to essential infrastructure following unusually heavy rains in Sudan.
National and international sources lament that the floods have washed away essential links, particularly the Azum Valley Bridge over Wadi Barei at Mali, 50 kilometers east of Murnei in West Darfur, which forms a critical logistic link between West, Central, and South Darfur.
Radio Dabanga reported that the collapse of four main bridges linking the states of Darfur due to the floods and rains that fell during the current autumn season has become an obstacle to delivering humanitarian aid to the residents of the region who are threatened by famine. Moreover, the hopes of residents for rescue after the Port Sudan government agreed to open the Adre border crossing with Chad are fading with additional rains that have also closed the paved and unpaved roads linking the region with neighboring countries.
Obstructing relief operations
The rapporteur of the El Geneina Emergency Room, Alaa El Din Babiker, says that the collapse of the bridges has a major impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of Darfur, because it has separated West Darfur State from the rest of the states of the region, and therefore there is no way to deliver aid to Central, South, East and North Darfur.
Alaa El-Din pointed out that this (Geneina-Zalingei) road, where the bridges collapsed, is the only one that allows trucks to pass during the rainy season, and it is the only road that the region also depends on to obtain consumer goods and essential commodities coming from Chad. He added, “Now the commercial movement has been affected after the flow of goods stopped, so prices have risen in most cities and have almost tripled as a result of the stoppage of their flow.”
Possible alternatives
Darfur residents warned that there is no way to deliver humanitarian aid other than airdrops as alternative routes are insecure.
The RSF, which control four of the five Darfur states, had suggested to the United Nations, according to its press conference on Sunday afternoon, August 25, in Geneva, that the airports of Zalingei, Geneina, Nyala and Ed Daein be used to transport relief, but that will require the approval of the Port Sudan government, which the United Nations considers the sovereign authority.
