Flash floods in Sudan have killed more than 100 people and left tens of thousands homeless, threatening even a famous archaeological site near the capital Khartoum and compounding the country’s already dire economic situation, officials said.
Floodwaters this week entered the ancient royal city of the Kushite kings known as the Island of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage site, said Abdel-Hai Abdel-Sawy, head of the archaeological exploration department at Sudan’s National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums.
According to Sawy, parts of the ancient site have become submerged. Workers have pumped the water and erected sandbag barricades to protect the site.
“But we were not able to reach some points at the site because of the flooding water … (or) evaluate indirect damage to the site, particularly such artifacts under the ground,” he said.
Flash floods, which have struck much of Sudan since late July, forced authorities earlier this month to declare the country a natural disaster area and impose a three-month state of emergency.
The Interior Ministry said that as of Thursday, at least 103 people have died because of the floods and at least 500 have been injured.
More than 550,000 people in all but one of Sudan’s 18 provinces have been affected, including Khartoum and North Darfur.
