Sudan: Unprecedented rise in Blue Nile water levels amid flooding fears

This picture taken on September 14, 2020 shows a general view of flooded parts of the outskirts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum [MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images]

Arab media outlets reported on Friday that an unprecedented rise in the levels of the Blue Nile had been recorded in Sudan.

According to Al Jazeera, the gates of the Merowe Dam had to be opened to avoid flooding, while Al-Arabiya quoted Sudanese media reports claiming that floods swept through the town of Al-Faw in the Qadarif region, east of the country.

A state of emergency was declared after an unexpected water flow reached the Merowe Dam.

This came a few days after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali declared the initiation of the second filling of the Renaissance Dam, which has become a major point of contention between Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Cairo.

READ: Sudan warns of rise in Nile waters as heavy rains strike

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