The record flood of the year 1946 was inscribed in the memory of the Sudanese so deeply that it became an event to be dated, and it was not until 1988 that the towns and villages bordering the Nile experienced similar floods, after which there were catastrophic floods at short intervals that turned into almost annually.
According to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources readings, the Nile flood - which is besieging and threatening the homes and farms of the Sudanese on the banks of the river now - is the largest in 100 years.
Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas said in a press conference that the levels of the Nile recorded floods higher than last year and the 1946 record flood that was at the Khartoum station, within 17.14 meters, while the highest levels last year recorded 17.26 meters.
According to the readings of the ministry's flood committee, the Khartoum station recorded the highest level today, 17.57 meters, while the Shendi station recorded 18.25 meters, surpassing the highest peak recorded 18.07 meters by 18 cm.
The Nile flood surrounds most of the areas of Khartoum State overlooking the 3 rivers, "the Blue and White Nile and the Main Nile River", while Totti Island - near the Moqrin of the Blue and White Niles, struggles every year - to escape from drowning.
Part of the Minister of Irrigation's statement regarding the flood relationship with the Renaissance Dam and the High Dam # Sudan_Signature_Peace # Challenges_TransitionPic.twitter.com/vE4cyJ7PMj
- Rania (@rania_mmo) September 1, 2020
Confusion of readings
and the Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources absolved the High Dam in Egypt and the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia of causing the record floods that Sudan is currently suffering.
He said that the opposite is true, in the event that the Renaissance Dam is operational, it will protect Sudan from floods, and the High Dam Lake ends at about 150 km south of Wadi Halfa and the last extension of the lake is a great distance north of Dongola, and therefore it has no effect on the flood of the Nile in Khartoum or in the two Makashi areas. And Hazima in the northern state.
An official source at the Ministry of Irrigation told Al-Jazeera Net that part of the causes of the floods is local, including huge valleys that confuse the readings of the levels of the Nile River after Ethiopia crossed Sudan.
Large valleys - according to the source - pay in huge quantities to the course of the Nile in Sudan, including famous valleys that flow into the eastern and western banks of the Nile at Khartoum, and the floods of these valleys sometimes cause severe damage before they reach the Nile.
He points out that there are seasonal tributaries of the Blue Nile - such as the Rahad, Dinder and Atbara rivers - that annually pay large amounts of water to the course of the Nile in the flood season.
The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources calls on the media for urgent enlightenment after the rise of the Nile water level in Khartoum to higher than the predictions of the Flood Committee and an increase in many of the prison population. # Sudan_Fall 2020 # Union_Maghdi_Sudan pic.twitter.com/NGSCRRfE5d
- Dr. Magdi A. Halim Al. Othman (@magdi_halim) August 28, 2020
A blessing and a curse
. Idris Omar, from the Department of Underground Water and Wadis at the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, emphasized that the water of the valleys and creeks, instead of being a blessing, turned into a curse.
Omar added to Al-Jazeera Net that the administration has references, studies and research from English and Dutch expertise houses and can provide readings on the quantities of water that the valleys bring and the speed of its flow, but it needs funding and logistics.
It is noteworthy that among the plans that can be accomplished is building earth and concrete dams to take advantage of the valleys' water in agricultural projects instead of threatening the villages and neighborhoods of Khartoum on its way to the Nile.
Annually, the eastern suburbs of Khartoum in “Umm Dawa Ban”, “Marabeeh Al-Sharif”, “Al-Alyfoun”, “Soba” and “Ad Babiker” suffer from the flood waters coming from the Butana Plain.
For 3 years, Sudan has been unable to provide financing to take advantage of the Wadi al-Hawad that extends from the Butana plain in the east of the country to its north to flow into the Nile, where an area of 2.4 million acres of its highly fertile lands can be cultivated.
97 martyrs and 1,200 wounded in the flood of the Nile River on the Sudanese capital # Khartoum and its suburbs and thousands of destroyed homes .. We did not see the country and the Arab people solidarity with it .. despite the fact that the flood continues until now and takes dozens of lives and homes. # From_My Heart_Salam_to Khartoum pic.twitter.com / q7WgHib2jW
- Haya Masarji (@ HayaMasarji1) August 31, 2020
Distress calls:
The state of Khartoum called on the residents of the banks of the Nile, with its various branches, and the inhabitants of the islands, to take caution and caution, after the flood committee’s statement that Khartoum was exposed to a new wave of rise in the level of the Nile as of Wednesday, with an increase of 4 centimeters to settle at 17.56 meters during the next 3 days.
Social media platforms were full of the past hours with distress calls made by activists when the levels of the Nile rose, and almost invaded Tutti Island in Khartoum.
Totti - which is surrounded by the Nile from every direction - has stories and stances due to its steadfastness in front of all the record floods, and its people rejected the paradox of the island inhabited by about 500 years.
The youth of Totti Island this week revived the 1946 flood saga when they confronted the Nile with their bodies, and a song by the artist Hamad Al-Reeh immortalized that epic with an enthusiastic song that was broadcast by channels and radio every flood season to stimulate enthusiasm in the fight against the flood.
Khartoum: Mohamed El-Taher
In a rare heroic epic, the youth of the city of Totti in the center of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, formed a shield with their bodies to confront the flood waters rushing in abundance towards their homes.
And the clip obtained by (Al-Sudani) from the social networking site Facebook, ... pic.twitter.com/MC5Z6vB66X
- Dr. Magdi A. Halim Al. Othman (@magdi_halim) August 30, 2020
The peak of the flood
Until this morning, the Blue Nile flood swept through the Ash-Ash district in the city of Singa in the state of Sennar (360 kilometers southeast of Khartoum).
According to the Ministry of Interior, the Civil Defense Forces are working to evacuate the population and address the diversion in cooperation with the local and community authorities.
The Ministry of Interior added that an increase of 5 centimeters in the level of the Blue Nile was observed in the city of Wad Madani (188 km south of Khartoum) on Thursday morning compared to yesterday, followed by the leakage of the Nile water in the Nuba and Al-Jadid Amran areas in the state of Gezira, where the necessary measures are being taken.
And north in the northern state, residents built barricades on the banks of the Nile River to protect date palm farms - the main source of income - from flooding, as happened in 1946, 1988 and 1994.
The annual flooding of the Nile threatens a chain of islands in the areas of Abu Hamad in the state of the Nile River, and these islands are evacuated annually until the peak of the flood in mid-August, but the Nile in recent years has had other peaks in September.
Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok directed - through his Facebook account - to continue effective coordination between all state institutions and agencies, headed by the National Council for Civil Defense, in this great national alert "to work to alleviate the flood of our citizens."