Wad Ramli (Sudan) (AFP)
A few days after seeing his village engulfed by floods, Al-Sediq Abdelkader desperately tried, in his truck, to find his small house, north of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
Nile floods flooded his home in the village of Wad Ramli, located on the eastern banks of the river, forcing him to flee aboard a ferry with his family to reach the nearest non-flooded place.
His journey was not easy and he had to navigate among floating mattresses, household appliances and tree branches.
"My whole house has been destroyed," says the 57-year-old. "I have lived all my life in this village and have never seen such a flood."
"I struggle to recognize my house and I try to identify it, as some have done, from the trees around," he continues.
His home is one of thousands destroyed or damaged by the recent floods that affected at least 15 states and nearly 200,000 Sudanese.
White Nile State, in the south of the country, was the most affected.
At least 62 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded, the official Suna news agency quoted an official at the Ministry of Health as saying the crisis had "not reached a (sufficient) level to be declared state of natural disaster ".
Volunteers and humanitarians immediately went to Wad Ramli after the flood.
The authorities sent trucks and boats to rescue the affected families and their belongings.
But Mr. Abdelkader is among the least fortunate. "I have not managed to find any of my possessions, my family now lives with relatives in a nearby village," he laments.
- "Mosquitoes everywhere" -
The main road at the entrance to Wad Ramli is dotted with soaking furniture and dozens of tents where families have fled.
These floods occur in a context of transition to a civilian power in Sudan.
A prime minister and a majority sovereign council of civilians must oversee a 39-month transition period, following the dismissal in April of President Omar al-Bashir after three decades at the helm of the country.
On Friday, new Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok visited Wad Ramli and called for increased humanitarian efforts. The crisis is expected to last until October, the end of the rainy season, said the UN.
"We have not been able to identify the number of houses assigned to Wad Ramli because of rising water levels," said Farouk Ahmed, a Red Crescent team leader.
According to him, the village sheltered about 6,000 inhabitants.
And, while the villagers of Wad Ramli have already been hit, residents of the surrounding villages are preparing to see the flood progress.
In the neighboring village of Wawesi Gharb, Sami Ali, a 35-year-old farmer, says he has done everything to protect himself from the rising waters.
"We have piles of sandbags around the houses to reduce the damage if we are affected by the floods, especially after the water has surrounded our village," he says.
Another resident, Hozeifa al-Ser, 24, said he feared an epidemic because "mosquitoes and flies fly everywhere".
- "We will come back" -
Field clinics have been set up at the entrance to Wad Ramli, but medications and supplies are lacking, according to aid workers.
Hundreds of villagers now living in tents are thinking of ways to return home.
Nafissa al-Said, her two sisters and their families are planning to return as soon as the flood recession allows.
"We have lived in this village all our life, we will have to go back and rebuild our houses, the authorities just have to build dikes, but we will not leave," she says.
Chehab al-Din Mohamed, 19, lost his identity documents and university registration documents.
"The academic year will begin soon and I have no idea how I will be able to register after losing everything," he said. "It seems that we will stay here (under a tent) until October ...".
© 2019 AFP