Around 170 Sudanese refugee families were left homeless after heavy rains, fierce winds and thunderstorms ripped through the Abu Qadam camp in eastern Chad, flattening about 170 homes.
The Darfur Victims Support Organization said the storm struck at about 5:30 p.m. local time on June 30, pounding the camp near the city of Abéché.
Most of the displaced were women and children, forced into the open as powerful winds tore apart shelters and deepened already fragile humanitarian conditions.
The organization appealed for urgent assistance from local, regional and international agencies to provide tarpaulins, blankets, construction materials and safe drinking water.
It also called for immediate medical support, warning that families without shelter face growing health risks in the aftermath of the storm.
The destruction adds another layer of hardship for Sudanese refugees who fled war at home, only to confront a fresh disaster across the border.
Since fighting erupted in Sudan in April 2023, Chad has received more than 932,000 refugees, bringing the country’s total Sudanese refugee population to about 1.3 million, including those displaced in earlier waves from western Sudan.
