Severe thunderstorms claim the lives of at least 26 people along Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
Severe storms hit many parts of the northern Red Sea coast of Egypt. [Mohamed Hakim/EPA]
Published On 30 Oct 201630 Oct 2016
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Severe thunderstorms have claimed the lives of at least 26 people along Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
The outbreak of storms, linked to a cold weather front, began on Wednesday and continued intermittently until the early hours of Saturday.
Although late October is generally seen as the start of the rainy season across the Middle East, storms of such intensity are unusual at this time of the year. Heavy rainfall is usually reserved for the winter months.
Fifty-one millimetres of rain fell in Hurgada, well known as a dive resort, on Thursday. This is probably nearly half a year’s worth of rain.
The town of Ras Gharib, 150km to the north of Hurgada, was also affected. Seven people were killed and 23 others injured as a result of flash flooding.
The country’s Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, visited the town on Saturday.
The danger of storms has now passed and the coming days are expected to see a return to sunny skies.
Many of the deaths occurred as vehicles were swept away in flash flooding. [Ibrahim Zayed/EPA]
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This image gives a sense of the fast-flowing water that followed the severe downpours. [Ibrahim Zayed/EPA]
Baking sun makes earth surfaces very hard, accentuating run-off. [Mohamed Hakim/EPA]
Upper Egypt and the Red Sea coast were hit by the storms. Asyut, 400km south of Cairo, was one of the towns affected. [Mohamed Hakim/EPA]
The Egyptian prime minister toured some of the worst affected areas. [Mohamed Hakim/EPA]
The prime minister heard what relief and rebuilding measures were being undertaken. [Mohamed Hakim/EPA]
