Egypt confirms its readiness for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam flood.. Experts: What is happening in Sudan is an "artificial flood"

In light of Sudanese warnings of potential floods due to high discharges from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Egyptian water resources experts reassure about the internal situation, confirming that the High Dam in Egypt is fully equipped to absorb any emergency water quantities, even if they reach one billion cubic meters per day.

The Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation declared a "red alert" along the Nile River, amid fears of unprecedented floods. According to experts, the roots of the crisis are directly linked to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Dr. Abbas Sharaki, a professor of water resources and geology at Cairo University, stated in a statement to "Al Arabiya.net" that the reservoir of the Renaissance Dam, after being completely filled last year, overflowed from the top due to the turbines not being operated as planned and not being gradually emptied to receive rainwater.

Sharaki added: "With the onset of the rainy season last July, the dam's reservoir filled to the point where water overflowed from the top, causing approximately 750 million cubic meters to flow daily towards Sudan." He pointed out that these quantities caused the Nile level in Khartoum to rise to 16.89 meters.

Dr. Sharaki emphasized that what Sudan is experiencing now is an "artificial flood" directly caused by the Renaissance Dam, stating: "It did not protect Sudan as was initially promoted, but rather caused the loss of this year's agricultural season."

On the other hand, experts believe that the situation in Egypt is fundamentally different due to the presence of the water system of Lake Nasser and the High Dam. Dr. Nader Nour El-Din, a professor of water resources at Cairo University, stated that "what Sudan has recently witnessed does not exceed the declaration of a maximum readiness state, in anticipation of a potential flood," explaining that "the level is still about a full meter below the major flood level, which means that the situation has not yet reached the drowning stage as some promote."

Nour El-Din confirmed the High Dam's ability to protect Egypt, stating: "The High Dam in Egypt is capable of protecting the country with a massive storage capacity of 162 billion cubic meters, in addition to the three side lakes around Lake Nasser with an additional capacity of 22 billion cubic meters, and the Toshka spillway capable of discharging more than 20 billion cubic meters."

He pointed to a proactive mechanism that ensures Egypt's safety, explaining: "Egypt withdraws about 55 billion cubic meters from the lake's stock before the start of the flood season, which is its annual consumption, thus providing additional capacity to receive any new quantities of water without danger."

In an extreme hypothetical scenario, Dr. Nour El-Din emphasized that "even in the hypothetical scenario of completely emptying the Ethiopian dam's reservoir, Egypt would not be affected, due to the High Dam's system's ability to absorb this quantity."

This opinion was supported by Dr. Abbas Sharaki, confirming that "the High Dam is capable of absorbing any additional quantities of water, even if they reach one billion cubic meters per day, thanks to its massive capacity, making the Egyptian situation completely safe."