Sudan has declared a three-month state of emergency after the Nile reaches its highest water level in a hundred years, local authorities said. Floods killed at least 99 people and partially or completely destroyed 100,000 homes.
In addition to the deaths, a further 46 people have been injured, says Sudanese Minister of Employment and Social Affairs Lena Al Sheikh. The government has designated Sudan as an ecological disaster area.
The floods are often the result of particularly heavy rainfall during the rainy season, especially in neighboring Ethiopia, writes The Guardian. This caused the Nile to rise to nearly 17.5 meters by the end of August.
The number of floods even exceeds the record years 1946 and 1988, Al Sheik adds. The water is expected to continue to rise in the near future. The states of Khartoum, Blue Nile and Nile have been hit particularly hard.
To deal with the consequences of the disaster, Sudan is setting up a committee headed by the Ministry of Employment, the Sudanese Council of Security and Defense said.
The United Nations (UN) had already stationed humanitarian supplies in Sudan before the rains and were therefore well prepared. These goods can temporarily meet the needs of 250,000 people, but supplies are quickly running out. The UN calls on the international community to give more support to the country.
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