“The heavy sound of the collapse was loud and accompanied by a faint tremor. Yet it did not occur to me or my mom that the source of the sound was our yard’s (Hosh) wall. We were oblivious until the rain started to subside and we realized that our yard was completely submerged, with the water level only a few millimeters below the house’s threshold. When my father and brother made their way out of the house to the road, they found that we were surrounded by water and that our neighborhood was flooded. The water was running over the asphalted main road, parallel to the overflowing drainage.” This is what Hanna told Atar’s correspondent about what happened last September (2023) after a particularly heavy rain in al-Dammer, the capital town of the River Nile state.
Musab, who fled Khartoum in April 2023 and settled in his grandfather’s house in Block 6, a neighborhood in the oldest section of al-Dammer, described how their house was flooded during last September’s rains. The rain started pouring around 9 PM and lasted for about an hour, accompanied by a strong northern wind, which was unusual, as the wind is typically southern during Sudan’s rainy season. The resulting rainwater was trapped inside the house, and they spent the whole night manually draining it because the old house was at a lower level than the newly asphalted road. Despite the damage, his grandfather’s old house survived. Although some rooms were severely damaged, none collapsed. However, the well connected to the septic tank (a sewage treatment system known in Sudan as a Siphon), which was a repurposed old water well, collapsed. Musab explained that his grandfather’s old house was built in the 1950s or 1960s and had undergone some maintenance and renovation after the 1988 floods and torrents.
Approximately 3,000 houses were affected in al-Dammer’s locality due to last year’s rains and floods, most of which were within the town. By the number of affected houses, al-Dammer was the second most hard-hit locality after Merowe, with around 4,400 affected houses, and ahead of Beliel, with 2,000 affected houses. However, in terms of destroyed houses, al-Dammer had the highest number, with 2,164.
Sudan experienced heavy rains and debilitating floods in 2022, 2021, and 2020, which caused massive damage to buildings and infrastructure.
These figures are dwarfed by the severity of recent years. Sudan experienced heavy rains and debilitating floods in 2022, 2021, and 2020, which caused massive damage to buildings and infrastructure. The worst of these was in 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these figures, the impact of floods receives far less attention in the government’s environmental and climate change agenda, which focuses more on drought and its consequences on ecosystems, biodiversity, and food security. Sudan’s first State of Environment and Outlook Report, published in October 2020, barely discusses the impact of floods on the urban environment. For example, the word “flood” and its derivatives appeared 38 times in the Arabic report, while the word “drought” appeared 98 times. Dr Tallal Abdalbasit, a professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Khartoum, believes that the focus on droughts is politically motivated, as droughts last for extended periods and are a major catalyst in Sudan’s recent conflicts. Yet, environmental challenges are multifaceted.
Abdalbasit articulates the difficulty of establishing a direct cause-and-effect relationship between climate change and recurring floods, which fuels ongoing global political debate on the consequences of climate change. He explains that this is because the impact of climate change is most evident in areas with already extreme weather, and we cannot measure its effects independent of other environmental variables. For example, governments cannot ignore changes in the Nile course over the past ten years, such as the construction of the Renaissance Dam or land encroachment on the river’s banks in Khartoum. He cites the new Nile Street extension near the Republican Palace, which has led to changes in the banks, affecting areas both upstream and downstream. In Al-Safiya and Shambat neighborhoods, the water table rose from 14 meters to 8 meters from the surface. Nevertheless, Abdalbasit believes that the frequency of floods is increasing, as a 2021 paper concludes that devastating flood incidents have become more frequent not only in Sudan but throughout the Sahel region.
Floods are devastating whether in villages, towns, or cities. However, the higher population density in urban areas and their economic significance as markets and trade centers exacerbate the aftermath and damage of floods. This includes human suffering from deaths and displacement due to the collapse or damage of homes, economic losses from infrastructure destruction and damage to goods in markets, and health setbacks or crises due to flood-related epidemics. Abdalbasit confirms that the impact of floods in urban areas is more severe due to higher population density and the louder voice of urban residents.
When addressing the issue of floods in Sudan, it is crucial to differentiate between several causes of flooding in residential areas. First, the annual flooding of the Nile and its permanent and seasonal tributaries threatens settlements along its course, with increased frequency in recent years. Second are the floods caused by natural waterways, such as gullies and creeks, which exist within or near residential areas. Additionally, flash floods occur when heavy rainfall in a short period results in stormwater runoff that exceeds the capacity of drainage systems. These different forms of flooding can occur separately or simultaneously. For example, the 1988 flood in Khartoum resulted from high Nile floodwaters coinciding with an unprecedented 13-hour heavy rainfall, which overwhelmed the insufficient drainage systems. The 2013 floods in Khartoum were caused by heavy rains, and the 2020 floods were due to the Nile rising to the highest level ever recorded since measurements began in 1912.
Returning to Hanaa and Musab’s homes, the September 12, 2023 flash flood in al-Dammer was caused by heavy rains and the drainage system’s failure to handle the runoff. This coincided with the flooding of a gully or creek that runs through the town, causing massive destruction in Al-Shajarah neighborhood, the most affected in the town.
Along with the heavy rains, poor city planning and lack of monitoring were other culprits in the disaster. In Musab’s case, the higher street level trapped water inside the house. In Hanaa’s case, a new resident at the end of the street filled in the road, raising its level and blocking it as a natural drain for Block 13, which was severely damaged as a result.
According to Abdalbasit, the lack of monitoring is a crucial cause of the flooding problem. For example, Khartoum used to be filled with several millimeters of dust and construction debris every year. Haphazard construction works contribute significantly to blocking and filling streets. He explains that urban planning in Sudan does not account for creating pathways for gullies and creeks, which is not a priority issue for anyone. There is not even an existing database for gullies and creeks. Successive governments have contributed to allocating land plots in flood-prone areas without taking precautions. Regardless of the entity responsible, the state must ensure the safety of its people and provide compensation.
When asked if any government agency had come to their aid, Musab told Atar that a few months ago, an organization visited them through the neighborhood’s popular committee and provided monetary assistance from the Ministry of Social Welfare. However, he was unsure whether the money was related to flood damage or hosting IDPs. Nevertheless, the funds helped them complete the maintenance of the house.
Although poor planning is a prominent topic in debates about flood management, the conversation rarely addresses the nature of the buildings themselves. In a 2018 paper discussing a practical plan to counter the effects of flash floods in Khartoum, the authors highlighted the absence of an effective urban development strategy and the lack of focus on building quality.
The frequency of heavy rainfalls and successive floods raises pressing questions about prevailing building methods and technologies and their ability to adapt to more extreme climates. Musab describes how different rooms in his grandfather’s house were built with various materials over time, but all suffered water leakage. For instance, one room had a roof made of wooden planks covered with a mixture of adobe (jaloos) and supported by wooden beams over a steel beam. In one of the verandas, the traditional roof’s wooden beams (made from tree trunks) bent, creating a channel that retained water leaking through. The rushing water eroded the walls of the rooms, causing the floors to collapse. Musab explains that the room’s walls, made of mud bricks and finished with cement plaster on the inside, had varying exteriors. Some were plastered with a sand and glue mixture, while others were covered with adobe (jaloos). The most damaged rooms, with washed-away walls, were those covered with adobe.
According to the 2014/15 MICS (the last Multi Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in Sudan), 60.6 per cent of houses have walls made of natural materials (e.g., cane, palm trunks, or dirt), while 28.1 per cent have finished walls (stone, cement, bricks). Although finished walls and roofs are theoretically more resistant to heavy rains and floods than natural ones, the effectiveness varies in practice.
Abdalbasit argues that poverty is a significant factor when considering building materials. He stresses the need for serious research into local materials and their maintenance. He notes that the University of Khartoum, for example, lacks a serious research program to study local materials, even though houses built with these materials represent the majority. He advocates for improving these materials to become central in mainstream education and professional practice.
Abdalbasit emphasises that the state should collaborate with local communities to transfer knowledge and building options. Governments should involve communities in identifying buildings in flood-prone areas rather than focusing solely on urban centers, land distribution, and building permits.
He also highlights the fundamental role of observatories, weather forecasts, and monitoring in protecting people and their properties. For example, in the case of floods, early warnings should be issued two or three days in advance, not as a surprise.
Abdalbasit concludes by saying: “The main idea is that climate change should be addressed seriously and scientifically, rather than with a fatalistic or superstitious approach. The frequency of floods indicates that they may occur again soon and their severity is likely to increase.”
