EGYPT'S First Lady Mrs Suzanne Mubarak ordered compensation of LE80,000 (around $14,747) to be paid to each family, whose home was destroyed by the flash floods in Aswan in Upper Egypt two weeks ago. The Government has agreed to pay a compensation of LE25,000 to each one of these families, but Mrs Mubarak ordered to increase it by LE55,000 during a meeting with community leaders and Government officials in Aswan on Tuesday. Mrs Mubarak called on business owners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help each family that lost its house build and equip a new one for it, the local media reported. According to Government reports, some 441 homes were damaged in the two Aswan villages of el-Shadida and Abul Rish Bahri forcing thousands to stay in make-shift camps, schools and youth centres. Aswan, an arid region, is unused to heavy rains which cause flash floods that can destroy homes and carry off livestock. She told the meeting that President Hosni Mubarak, who is concerned with the magnitude of the families' losses, determined to send sufficient aid immediately after the floods. She also advised against the building of traditional mud brick homes in the two damaged villages. El-Shadida and Abul Rish Bahri should be re-built as the first planned villages to provide the families with modern homes and utilities, Mrs Mubarak said, adding that they should have sufficient infrastructure to ensure future economic growth and sustainability for their residents. She recommended that each re-built village should have a maximum of 400 homes.
