DESPITE the clear weather forecasts and stern warnings issued by the Egyptian Meteorological Authority over the past few days, the governmental authorities and municipalities have not taken the necessary precautions to prevent traffic problems on days with unstable weather of heavy rain and floods. This occurred quite dismally last winter, when floods hit wide parts of Sinai and Aswan, causing damage to many villages and farms and making thousands of people homeless. This week, the Meteorological Authority warned about heavy rain on the northern and eastern coasts and all the way up to Cairo, causing a drop in temperatures. However, no precautions were taken to avoid the accumulation of rainwater in the Cairo streets, adding more hardship to the already chaotic traffic in the capital as well as on motorways. It makes one wonder whether the forecasts are only meant to caution the public, but not to be heeded by the authorities to take sensible precautions that could prevent accidents and other tragic events. Along with clearing the flood gullies before the winter season, governorates should keep a close watch on roads likely to be flooded by heavy rains. Last month, for example, the meteorologists forecast heavy rain, wind and floods in Upper Egypt and Sinai. However, no precautions were taken, resulting in a tragic school bus accident. Around 15 girls died when winds and floods pushed the bus off the Assiut road into a ravine. Fortunately, climactic changes in Egypt are not as severe as in some parts of the world, otherwise more people would die because of governmental reluctance in tackling these problems.
