EGYPT ON HIGH ALERT FOLLOWING SUDAN FLOODS

Arab News
CAIRO: The High Dam and Lake Nasser are able to absorb all the water and to drain the excess through the Toshka spillway.
Following the destruction caused by the flooding of the Nile in Sudan, Egypt is taking all precautions to avoid such a catastrophe.
Egyptian authorities are regularly exchanging information with their Sudanese counterparts on the issue.
A special committee has been formed to monitor the situation and take necessary measures.
Egypt’s Flood Forecasting Center, in the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation, examines rain maps at the Nile River’s headwaters from the beginning of the water year in August. The ministry’s agencies constantly watch the state of rains and flood at the sources of the Nile and monitor the volume of incoming water.
Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty has directed the committee to coordinate with all relevant agencies to deal with floods this year.
The Nile River Revenue Regulatory Committee on Saturday reviewed the position of the Nile flood, and the measures already taken, as well as the quantity of water expected to arrive. The data indicated a decrease in the Nile’s headwaters’ rain rates by the end of September.
The ministry said that according to preliminary reports the country may experience higher than average floods as compared to the previous year, but it is too early to judge the extent of any flooding.
“There are no negative effects from the Sudan floods because of the capacity of the (Aswan) High Dam, which protects the country from floods and torrential damages,” ministry spokesman Mohamed El-Sebaei said.
He explained that the dam and Lake Nasser are able to absorb all the water and to drain the excess through the Toshka spillway.
The High Dam began working on Jan. 15, 1971, and Egypt established the Toshka spillway at the end of 1981 to further protect the country from the danger of high floods. The spillway is located in the Western Desert, about 250 km south of the High Dam.
El-Sebaei said the additional water that comes from the Nile’s headwaters through Sudan is held in Lake Nasser, behind the High Dam. Its drainage is assigned under specific plans to agriculture, irrigation, industry and drinking water needs.
According to the Sudanese Civil Defense, the floods that have recently ravaged Sudan have destroyed more than 100,000 houses, killed at least 100 people and displaced thousands.