Sudan Drowning in a River of Woe

After famine, disease, war and debt come floods and locusts

Yousef Yagoub, 30, a tomato farmer and father of four, sleeps on a dirty piece of cardboard, the muddy waters of the Nile slapping menacingly near his feet. Before the floods, he and his family lived in a flimsy hut made of tree branches. Now only the roof is left, barely poking above the water about 50 yards offshore. "Life," he says, "is too difficult."

For centuries the Nile has brought life to Sudan's impoverished inhabitants. But torrential thunderstorms this summer have turned the river into a killer. More than 8 inches of rain -- twice the average for an entire...

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