Port Sudan / Suakin — At least seven people have died as heavy rain caused flash floods in Sudan's Red Sea state at the weekend, leaving a swathe of devastation in Port Sudan and the neighbouring port of Suakin.

Listeners from Suakin told Radio Dabanga that seven people, including five from the same family, died in Iram in the south of the town as a result of the floods. Floods also cut off the road connecting Suakin with Tokar leaving the area isolated.

Torrential rains and floods on Saturday evening led to the inundation of several neighbourhoods in Port Sudan, and electrical power was cut for hours. The Civil Defence Authority said yesterday that it was able to rescue 25 passengers from a bus swept that was way by floods in the Dar El Naeem creek in the city.

In Sudan, most rainfall occurs during the rainy season from March to October, with greatest concentration between June and September. Following a delayed start to the season in eastern and southern areas of Sudan, rainfall improved in early June, the Washington-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) reported in June. The network prediction of near-average rainfall across much of the country for July-October, turned out to be correct.

Since war erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and the west of the country in mid-April, government ministries, foreign embassies, UN agencies, and organisations moved to Port Sudan where many are working from temporary offices.