More than 50 people were killed and 20 injured in Sudan's worst floods in living memory, the head of civil defence said today.
He said major roads to some parts of the country had been flooded and that police helicopters and government planes were flying in emergency aid and tents to affected areas in Sudan's east, southeast and around Khartoum.
Rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers forced hundreds of families to seek main roads, often the highest ground around, and 18,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Mr Ali blamed climate change and countries who have been polluting the environment for worsening rains.
Aid workers have said with better monitoring and planning, Sudan's authorities could prevent deaths.
The civil defence authority said people build in high-risk areas close to river banks or in flood-prone plains, ignoring government warnings.
A rainy season from June to September each year in Sudan causes floods, especially in the east. Sudan is mostly desert at other times of the year and uses little of the river Nile waters allocated to it under an east African treaty for agriculture.