Surging waters have burst through a dam, wiping out at least 20 villages and leaving at least 30 people dead, though probably many more in eastern Sudan, the United Nations said on Monday, devastating a region already reeling from months of civil war.
Torrential rains caused floods that overwhelmed the Arbaat Dam on Sunday just 40 km (25 miles) north of Port Sudan, the de facto national capital and base for the government, diplomats, aid agencies and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
"The area is unrecognizable. The electricity and water pipes are destroyed," Omar Eissa Haroun, head of the water authority for Red Sea state, said in a WhatsApp message to staff. One first responder said that between 150 and 200 people were missing.
The homes of about 50,000 people were impacted by the flooding, the United Nations said, citing local authorities, adding that the number only accounted for the area west of the dam as the area east was inaccessible.
The dam was the main source of water for Port Sudan, which is home to the country's main Red Sea port and working airport, and receives most of the country's much-needed aid deliveries.
