Sudan’s top military leader, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, recently visited the site of the Arbaat Dam collapse in the northeast of the country, where he met with local residents and first responders. The dam, located north of Port Sudan, burst after torrential rains, leading to widespread devastation as farms and villages downstream were washed away.
Amr Eissa Taher, the head of water resources for the Red Sea state, described the damage as extensive. A local official reported to the Sudanese news site Al-Tagheer that at least 60 people are feared dead, with many more still missing. In response, the health ministry has deployed resources to assist those stranded by the disaster.
This tragedy is the latest in a series of disasters to hit Sudan, a country already suffering from the ravages of war since April last year when fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ongoing conflict has displaced millions, with several states now facing famine.
The extreme weather that caused the dam’s collapse is expected to worsen the country’s already dire food shortages. The Arbaat Dam was the primary water supply for Port Sudan, which has become the de facto administrative capital following the escalation of fighting in Khartoum.