A street peddler and his wife were killed on Thursday after their two-story home collapsed in Sohag as a result of heavy rains, which also caused another house to collapse in the nearby Al-Usayrat Township. Authorities have vowed to investigate the incident. Several other areas of the country also experienced torrential rainfall this week, including the Upper Egyptian cities of Kom Ombo and Idfu. The southern Sinai Peninsula was similarly battered by a series of thunderstorms, particularly in and around Sharm al-Sheikh and Nuweiba, where heavy rainfall continued for over five hours on Thursday. Rainfall and flooding have also seriously affected land traffic and sea navigation in the Red Sea Governorate. Heavy rains caused several local shops to close, while hotels in the area--along with the tents set up in preparation for New Year's celebrations--were affected by flooding. The tempestuous weather prompted Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources to issue a state of alert in the governorates most at risk of flooding. According to Water Resources Minister Mohamed Nasr al-Din Allam, water levels in the country's primary canals were lowered in order to accommodate extra rainfall. Egypt's National Weather Forecast Authority (NWFA), meanwhile, has predicted improved weather conditions over the next 48 hours. Nevertheless, NWFA spokesman Ali Qotb has warned motorists of potentially thick fog conditions, especially at night. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
