28 water dams, 16 artificial lakes to help control floods

CAIRO – 1 May 2018: The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced establishing 28 water dams and 16 artificial lakes to face the dangers of flooding and control its consequences, according to an official statement by Minster Mohamed Abdel-Ati on Monday, April 30.

It was added in the statement that the ministry has finished several projects with a cost of up to LE 1.7 billion ($96.3 million); however, other projects are still under construction with a total cost of LE 4.6 billion.

The established projects were announced to be in the governorates of South Sinai, Red Sea, Matrouh, Beni Suef, Asyut, Aswan, Sohag and Luxor.

Egypt’s weather is usually stable, as cases of heavy rains and flooding are not witnessed often; however, in recent years, heavy rains have caused severe problems for many Egyptians, damaging buildings, houses, cars and even agricultural land. The government has promised to find solutions to the problem.

On April 26, Egypt’s government apologized for the consequences of the heavy rain that flooded various governorates’ streets over the previous two days.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting on Thursday, April 26 that the government feels truly sorry for the effects of the flood that affected citizens’ properties, houses and cars.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi also said that the government will intensify its efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents.

“I fully understand the state of suffering that hit some Egyptians as a result of the sudden and unusual rainfall during the last two days; I assure you that the state’s authorities will intensify their efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents,” President Sisi wrote on his official Twitter account Thursday morning.

Even though the Egyptian Meteorological Authority had warned of unstable weather from the beginning of the week, officials failed to take sensible precautionary measures or provide assistance after the torrential rain hit several parts of Cairo and Giza hard.

Rainfall throughout the capital caused some buildings, houses and bridges to collapse; other governorates, such as Suez, Ain Sokhna and Ismailia, were also affected.

Many people have taken to social media and television stations to pour their wrath on the provincial officials, emergency departments and officials in charge of drainage facilities, accusing them of failure and calling for interrogations.

Users on social media sites sarcastically shared photos of drains as great inventions that hope to reach Egypt soon, asking, “Where have the drains gone?”

Residents of the New Cairo got the lion’s share of the damage. Videos and photos went viral online, showing streets of the Fifth Settlement and El Shorouk City flooded, where water levels rose to over one meter, submerging vehicles in the flooded streets.