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Egypt offers aid to Sudan after Nile flood Egypt's irrigation ministry to give immediate technical help to Sudan after flood kills 36 and destroys 5,000 homes
Egypt's Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Motaleb announced on Monday that aid will be offered to Sudan, currently suffering from Nile flood. On Sunday, at least 36 people were killed and 5,000 houses were destroyed because of heavy rain and floods in a region north of Sudan's capital Khartoum. "We have given immediate orders for the Egyptian irrigation in Sudan to offer all of its technical and logistical capabilities to the Sudanese irrigation [ministry]," said Abdel-Motaleb in a press statement. Abdel-Motaleb added that Nile water sector of the irrigation ministry is currently closely following the measurements of the Nile and its tributaries: the Blue Nile, White Nile and Al-Atbarah River. The United Nations said heavy rains and flash floods in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan had killed 11 people and affected almost 100,000 others this month. In 2012 Sudan saw the highest rainfall levels in six years, which displaced 177,000 people and killed 49. Some irrigation experts believe the threat of flooding in Sudan could be reduced in the future with the construction of the controversial Grand Renaissance Dam of Ethiopia. Ethiopian plans to build a $4.7 billion hydroelectric dam, for which it began diverting a stretch of the Blue Nile in May,have raised concerns in Egypt and Sudan - both dependent on the world's longest river for their water supply. Sudan has tried to relay the dam's benefits to Egypt after the announcement of the construction stoked fears that Egypt's share of Nile water would be considerably reduced. Ethiopia has pledged to press ahead with the dam, despite Egypt's objections. In June, the three countries agreed to start negotiations on recommendations made by an international technical committee on the dam project. A meeting is scheduled for this month. The Blue Nile provides Egypt with the lion's share of its annual allotment of 55 billion cubic metres of Nile River water. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/78840.aspx
