Doden in Egypte na zware regenval, wind, zandstormen en sneeuw

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Extreem weer maakt slachtoffers in Egypte
Door hevige regenval, wind en zandstormen zijn gisteren in Egypte heel wat verkeersongevallen gebeurd en gebouwen ingestort. Daarbij kwamen minstens 31 mensen om.

Bij de instorting van een zes verdiepingen tellende textielfabriek in Alexandrië alleen al zijn minstens tien mensen gestorven en tien anderen gewond geraakt. Mogelijk bevinden zich nog tot dertig mensen onder het puin van het gebouw.

Dergelijke instortingen doen zich dikwijls voor in Egypte. Veiligheidsnormen blijven er geregeld dode letter en bovendien is het de gewoonte om verdiepingen zonder toelating toe te voegen. (belga/svm)

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Deaths in Egypt due to very bad weather

At least 18 people were killed yesterday due to the bad weather that hit the country on Sunday. Police sources confirmed that 11 were killed and 58 were injured in traffic accidents around the country. One factory building collapsed in the northern port city of Alexandria killing at least seven people and injuring 10, the state news agency MENA reported. It said the toll could rise as others were believed to be under the rubble.

"It has been raining steadily and very hard since yesterday (Saturday) in Alexandria. The building is 30-years-old and the foundations could have been damaged," a security official said.

Relief workers rushed to the scene to assist more factory workers. According to officials, there could have been as many as 30 people working at the time in the six-storey factory in the northern Alexandria neighbourhood of Moharram Bey.

Building collapses are relatively frequent in Egypt, where construction guidelines are ignored and additional floors are often built without planning permits.

At least 10 ports on the Red Sea and Mediterranean were shut due to the storms.

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Worst weather ever!
CAIRO: Flurries of snow drifted over the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria Sunday evening, leaving a dusting on streets and cars. Alexandrian resident Mohamed Abdelfattah said, “It’s terrible. It’s the worst weather ever.”

Snow is just the latest of Egypt’s unusual winter weather over the past few days.

Before the snow, Alexandria saw high winds and heavy rains. “Alexandria is drowning,” read Facebook statuses and Twitter posts from residents on Sunday. Twelve-foot waves instigated the closure of Alexandria’s port and two days of heavy rain contributed to the collapse of a textile factory, according to an official, leaving at least three dead and five injured.

A video posted on Facebook shows cars, buses, and even a tractor stranded in the midst of muddy, trash-filled water reaching nearly to the windows. A Twitter post from one Alexandrian read, “the highest level of water I ever saw.”

Another video showed people stranded in a bus as water swirled around the wheels, and another people walking on a sidewalk beside a road filled with mud, debris, and water. The weather also damaged parts of Alexandria’s promenade, according to residents.

Alexandria is more accustomed to rain than other parts of Egypt, but the amount of rain seen over the past few days has proven to be too much for the city. “The sewage infrastructure could not resist,” Abdelfattah told Bikya Masr. “A lot of first floor apartments were overwhelmed” with water.

“There’s been no government response at all,” he added.

Many Alexandrians are frustrated by the government’s inactivity, voicing their complaints online. Prominent blogger Zeinobia wrote, “Alexandria is drowning and we are waiting for the government to react, as usual!”

Extreme weather has been reported all over Egypt, with Cairo engulfed in a sandstorm and shipping disrupted in the Suez Canal. An official at Cairo Airport reported visibility of less than 300 meters, and another official said at least 11 people were killed and 58 injured in road accidents. Fierce winds also downed trees in Cairo, reportedly crushing two trees in the Dokki neighborhood according to a Tweet by Mohamed Effat.

Poor visibility and winds of up to 40 knots an hour delayed transit through the Suez Canal and left all 8 of Egypt’s Red Sea ports closed in addition to Alexandria’s port and another on the northern Mediterranean coast.

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Winterstorm hits Middle East
Cairo/Beirut - Stormy weather conditions in different areas of Egypt have left at least 18 people dead and 58 injured, as a fierce winter storm hitting the Middle East entered its third day.

The storm brought with it heavy rains and fierce winds, came amid unusually low temperatures in many areas, with some parts of the region getting a rare dose of snow.

Egypt, Syria, Israel and Lebanon, were all hit by the storm. Even Baghdad saw some snow flakes, though they quickly melted within hours.

Damascus, which has not seen snowfall in over two years, was covered in a blanket of white, some 70 centimeters deep, on Sunday morning. Accompanying rains and strong winds have caused road problems throughout Syria.

Syria's meteorology authority warned of hail, frost and fog until Tuesday at least, according to the state-run news agency SANA.

Seven people were killed and 10 were injured when a factory collapsed during a work shift in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria on Sunday, the al-Ahram news agency reported.

The death toll from the collapse is expected to rise as up to 30 people are still stuck under the rubble, security sources said.

Heavy rains are being blamed for the collapse of the old building believed to have had a damaged foundation.

Weather related car accidents throughout Egypt are estimated to have killed at least eleven people and injured 48. Several Egyptian ports were closed and navigation at the Suez Canal, a key global trade route, was temporarily halted on Sunday due to the weather conditions.

Cairo's normally bustling, slow-moving roads were emptier since Saturday, as cold winds and a severe dust storm discouraged people from going outdoors. The meteorology authority advised people to stay indoors until Tuesday.

Rain and winds have battered Lebanon, with heavy snowfall reported in regions sitting above 900 metres.

Roads were blocked as result of a snowstorm, the National News Agency (NNA) reported, adding that the weather will improve in the country only starting Wednesday. Flights out of Beirut have also been disrupted due to the weather.

After months of drought, heavy storms lashed Lebanon Friday night, causing material damage in different regions across the country.

Israel also saw strong storms that caused damaged over the weekend.