By Ashraf Sadek CAIRO, August 16, 2018 – On the orders of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the Cairo government has rushed relief aid to the Sudan, which has been hit by heavy floods in the past three weeks, the presidency spokesman said yesterday. Ambassador Bassam Radi said that President Sisi, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, directed the government to rush emergency aid to help the Khartoum government cope with the heavy flooding, which left many Sudanese, dead, injured and homeless. The aid, from the ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Health, Social Solidarity, Agriculture, and the Cairo-based Red Crescent Society, comprised foodstuffs, medicines, tents, blankets and rescue equipment, Ambassador Radi said. He added that the government sent two medical and veterinary teams to treat the flood-hit families and animals in Sudan, where rainfall had affected over 45,000 people and caused significant damage to key infrastructure. Khartoum government officials have said that more heavy floods were expected in other parts of the country. Monsoon rains in Sudan regularly last from June to November and cause the Nile and its tributaries to overflow. The Nile is at its highest levels in more than a century, swollen by heavy rain in many parts of the East African country, according to the Sudanese Water and Irrigation Ministry. The Sudanese Interior Ministry affirmed that the downpours and flooding had completely destroyed 3,206 houses, and damaged 3,048 others in the eastern province of Kassala, one of the worst hit areas.
