Flooding caused by heavy rains in Sudan has killed at least 52 people and damaged thousands of homes since the start of the rainy season in May, according to the official Sudanese news agency.

Heavy rains typically hit Sudan from May to October, a time when dangerous floods hit the country, damaging housing, infrastructure and crops.

The official Sudanese news agency quoted Abdel Jalil Abdel Rahim, a spokesman for the National Civil Defense Council, as saying that the number of “flood and rain victims … in all states of the country has reached 52 dead and 25 injured.”

He also pointed out that 5,345 houses completely collapsed across Sudan, 2,862 partially collapsed, 16 utilities and 39 shops and warehouses collapsed, and 540 acres of farmland were affected by torrential waters.

He said the states most affected by the floods and rains are “Nile River State, North and South Kordofan and South Darfur.”

In a report released on Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that around 38,000 people across Sudan have been affected by rain and flooding since the start of the rainy season.

About 314,500 people were affected in Sudan during the 2021 rainy season, according to the agency.