Sudan declares state of emergency over deadly floods

Khartoum, Sudan | XINHUA | Sudan’s Security and Defense Council has decided to declare a nationwide three-month state of emergency over floods, Sudan’s Sovereign Council announced in a statement Saturday.

Following a meeting late Friday, chaired by Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the Security and Defense Council instructed formation of a higher committee to ward off floods impacts, according to the statement.

It noted that so far 99 people have been killed and 46 others injured due to the heavy rains this year with over 100,000 houses collapsed.

Sudan’s Irrigation and Water Resources Ministry earlier said that the Nile River has registered unprecedented levels at most of the upper sources.

According to official statistics, the Nile River’s flood water this year is higher than that of 1946 and 1988.

Sudan often witnesses floods caused by heavy rains from June to October.

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XINHUA