The government began preparations for unstable weather expected to occur in the south and west of Egypt during the coming days, in order to reduce risks of floods and rains that will last until Thursday. A wave of adverse weather conditions is expected to occur on Tuesday after meteorological warnings of the possibility of rain and winds laden with dust. Users on social media circulated videos and photos of a thunder storm allegedly on its way to greater Cairo. According to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA), the sand storm already hit Upper Egypt on Monday and is heading north-west. Egypt's General Directorate of Traffic reopened on Tuesday all highways and roads that had been closed due to the sandstorm. Six highways in Upper Egypt governorates and in the New Valley were closed. Ahmed Abdel Aal, head of the EMA, said on Sunday that there are expectations of sandstorms, thunder, and rain. He explained that this climatic change and extreme weather is one of the key features of the spring season. In terms of government preparations, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail ordered the activation of the central operations rooms in the governorates and providing the necessary equipment and emergency teams for electricity and sanitation procedures. This came during his inspection of the central operations rooms to monitor weather conditions in some governorates. The minister of housing and urban communities, Mostafa Madbouly, visited a number of roads and hubs in New Cairo to review preparations for the rains. Also, the minister of irrigation and water resources attended 36 meetings with members of the higher committee for crisis management. Similarly, last week, adverse weather conditions hit some areas in greater Cairo, most notably New Cairo, in which water accumulated on the streets, hindering the movement of cars and resulting in the flooding of several houses. In response to this, the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) announced on Saturday the suspension of a number of New Cairo officials due to their mismanagement of the rainfall crisis. Also, the prosecutor general said that he will be in charge of investigations into the issue. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi commented on the crisis on Thursday that he understands the suffering felt by Egyptians in the aftermath of the inclement weather and pledged the government would step up its efforts towards preparedness in the future.
