Death toll from Sudan's rains, floods climbs to 89

Khartoum, Aug 25 (IANS) The death toll from the recent heavy rains and floods in Sudan has climbed to 89, state-owned media has reported."Meanwhile, more than 19,000 homes completely collapsed," Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Rahim, spokesman of Sudan's National Council for Civil Defense was quoted by Sudan News Agency (SUNA) as saying.Abdul-Rahim called for coordination and joint efforts across sectors and ministries to provide the necessary assistance to each affected region, including environmental conservation materials and pesticides, Xinhua news agency reported.He added that a number of the flood-hit roads have been restored to enable speedier assistance to the affected population.The Sudanese Council of Ministers on Sunday declared a state of emergency in the six flood-hit states of River Nile, Gezira, White Nile, West Kordofan, South Darfur and Kassala.About 136,000 people have been affected by the floods and heavy rains across Sudan since June, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.Sudan often witnesses floods caused by heavy rains from June to October.
--IANS int/shs

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