THE HEAVY rains that flooded Beheira governorate a week ago are expected to continue for another couple of days, according to the head of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA), Ahmed Abdel-Aal. Beheira Governor Mohamed Sultan declared Monday officially off for 68 schools due to the heavy rainfall that has engulfed the governorate since last week. From Wednesday to Saturday, all 3,000 schools in the governorate were closed due to flooding. Several army trucks with pumps are currently syphoning water from flooded streets in Beheira. Egypt's inclement weather left at least 12 dead last Wednesday — 11 in three villages in Beheira and one in Alexandria. Homes were flooded and traffic disrupted in northern parts of the country for the second time in less than a fortnight. Three of Beheira's victims died after being electrocuted by electricity pylons, the same way several people were killed in Alexandria last month when it too was flooded. According to the EMA, the levels of flooding in several cities were unprecedented this year, with the drainage systems in several provinces in need of a complete overhaul. On Sunday, the presidency announced that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi will allocate LE1 billion from the Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) fund to rebuild the drainage system in Alexandria and Beheira in northern Egypt. A-Sisi visited Alexandria on Sunday to check on efforts to tackle the crisis following the heavy rains that devastated the city. During his visit, Al-Sisi also ordered compensation for farmers whose lands were destroyed by the flood waters. Heavy rains in recent weeks have caused major street flooding in Alexandria and other northern cities, killing a number of people. It also led to the resignation of Alexandria's governor, Hani Al-Messiri. In early October, Al-Messiri reportedly complained that no infrastructure projects had been carried out in Alexandria in the past 15 years and asked the cabinet to allocate LE75 million for much-needed public works. However, Al-Messiri's request was rejected because of budget constraints.
