Sudan is in the midst of yet another round of severe floods, even as much of the Horn of Africa struggles with catastrophic drought.

The Save the Children organization says 83 people have died and another 146,000 have been affected by the flooding. Whole villages have been submerged, with nearly 44,000 homes partially or completely destroyed. People living in the Gezira and River Nile states have required assistance from the British-based NGO.

Authorities in Sudan have declared a state of emergency in a third of the country’s provinces. Central Darfur, South Darfur, and West Darfur also have seen some of the worst impacts.

It’s the fourth straight year of unusually heavy rain and extensive flooding, and the NGO says as downpours continue more people are likely to be affected through September.

“Sudan is particularly vulnerable to impacts of the climate emergency, with extreme weather events over several decades eroding the nation’s resilience in the face of shocks like floods and drought,” the NGO said in a statement issued Wednesday.

“In recent years, the northern regions of Sudan have witnessed the Sahara Desert advance southward by almost a mile each year and a decrease in annual median rainfall of 15 to 30 percent.”

Arshad Malik, the country director for Save the Children, said Sudan is no stranger to floods but they’re now seeing whole communities wiped out.

“It’s one thing to have such devastating floods every 100 years, but in Sudan we are seeing these floods happening more regularly, and more ferociously,”  he said.

“Sudan, along with its neighbors in the region, is feeling the worst impacts of the climate crisis, and yet has contributed least to its cause. We are calling on leaders in the world’s worst polluting countries – including politicians, corporations, and wealthy elites – to tackle the root causes of the climate crisis, for the sake of current and future generations of children.”

Image: Save the Children