CAIRO: A committee formed to support victims of the recent floods is sending an aid convoy to Aswan on Sunday Jan. 24. The Public Committee to Support Flood Victims is collecting aid until Sunday including money, blankets and medical supplies. "The main convoy will go to Aswan because it is the most affected and destroyed [area], particularly Aboul Rish town, and if we send another convoy it will be to Al-Arish, Ahmed Ezzat, one of the committee's members, told Daily News Egypt. He added that another committee will be formed to collect more donations and will be sent to the other areas most affected by the floods. The committee is cooperating with organizations in Aswan to collect data about the causalities and number of people who need help. "We are coordinating with the Public Committee to Defend Citizens, and the division of the Lawyers' Syndicate in Al-Arish; we want to know the affected people on a personal basis, and if they received help quickly; we are seeking to control this catastrophe, Malik Adli, one of the committee's members, told Daily News Egypt. "People are responding to this call for help, a lot [of people] are donating, but we can't disclose the amount of money or aid we collected, he added. "The committee approached several organizations and institutions for help and there are a lot cooperating with us. We use the Hisham Mubarak Law Center to collect the aid, and other organizations are contributing too such as the Egyptian Association for Social Participation and the Tagammu Party in Al-Arish, Adli explained. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights and Safe Child Organization are also contributing to the cause, he added. "We will try to put pressure on the government to compensate the victims because there are people living on the streets, their homes were destroyed, Ezzat explained. Heavy rain and floods hit Aswan, South and North Sinai governorates last Sunday night and lasted for three days, leaving at least 15 dead, affecting more than 700 families, destroying 175 buildings, and partially damaged over 500 buildings. The flooding and the amount of damage incurred has angered the victims, who have severely criticized the government for its response which they deemed too slow and ineffective. Around 1,000 residents of El-Tor in Sinai protested the government's response to the crisis Wednesday. They used trucks to block the main roads and threw stones at police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Two policemen were injured in the clashes. According to MENA, the Minister of Religious Endowments Hamdi Zaqzouq offered a LE 1 million grant from the ministry to aid the victims of the floods in Sinai and Aswan. The grant was delivered to the Ministry of Social Security and will be used in the state's efforts to counter the fallout of the floods.
