Egypt Allocates Two Billion Pounds to Fix Drainage System as Severe Weather Expected

By Aswat Masriya

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi allocated Sunday EGP 2 billion for drainage projects to dampen the destructive impact of heavy rainfall that has struck Egypt’s coastal provinces.

Half of the money will come from the “Long Live Egypt” charity fund and the rest will be from the state’s budget, said a statement by the presidency.

The decision was made during Sisi’s meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, the housing and water resources ministers to review the ongoing preparations to face bad weather conditions in coastal provinces especially in Beheira and Alexandria.

The meeting also tackled the disbursement of compensation to citizens affected by the bad weather conditions.

Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali announced earlier in October the disbursal of EGP 10,000 to the families of the five victims, just as Prime Minister Sherif Ismail allocated EGP 75 million to repair the damage caused by the heavy rainfall in Egypt’s second largest metropolis.

Wali further announced that a subsistence allowance of EGP 100 will be given to each member of families that will be housed in shelters.

Beheira saw the death of at least 25 citizens and the collapse of several buildings due to heavy rainfall and flash floods.

The weather crisis prompted Alexandria’s governor Hany al-Messiry to resign in October as many questioned the city’s preparedness to deal with the inclement weather. On the same day he resigned, five people were killed, three of whom by electrocution.

Unstable weather prevailed for days after, leading to the collapse of some buildings. Some residents of al-Amriya district, west of Alexandria, had blocked the Cairo- Alexandria desert road earlier in November to protest against the slow response of authorities to the total flooding of their areas of residence.

Egypt’s meteorological authority forecast an increase in rainy clouds starting Sunday evening in Alexandria and Matrouh. However, the rainfall is expected to be less than before, in “non-disturbing” quantities.

The rainfall will extend to Monday over Egypt’s eastern provinces especially on south and central Sinai where heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday which might cause flooding.

In Egypt’s North Sinai, Governor Abdel Fattah Harhour raised Sunday the maximum alert following meteorological warnings of a drop in temperatures and heavy rainfall across the province especially in central Sinai.