Case study 2 - Upper Blue Nile

While the countries of the Nile may be mostly known for their droughts and subsequent famines, the basin also faces frequent flooding problems. Mainly the Blue Nile river in Ethiopia and Sudan, up to Khartoum, overflows its banks (almost) every year. Despite this recurrent problem, few flood forecasting and early warning systems are in place. This has partly been attributed to the limited data exchange among the riparian countries before the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was established. Now it is possible for researchers within the relevant disciplines to function effectively in Nile flood management projects. This case study focuses on flood forecasting and early warning for two sub-catchments, Ribb and Gumara, of Lake Tana in the Upper-Blue Nile in Ethiopia (Amare, 2008). These areas have been identified as two of the target areas for the Flood Preparedness and Early Warning project of the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO).