RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 3 : Egypt - Extreme Weather

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 3 Posted:2010-01-18, 13:52:06 [UTC] Ref.no.: ST-20100118-24603-EGY Situation Update No. 3 On 2010-01-21 at 03:52:51 [UTC] Event: Extreme Weather Location: Egypt Sinai Peninsula Number of Deads: 15 person(s) Situation: Security officials confirmed the deaths of two more people on Wednesday due to heavy rains and floods in Egypt, as damage to homes, roads, and infrastructure continues to worsen. This brings to 13 the total number of deaths due to extreme floods which began on Sunday. The dead include one British tourist. Thunderstorms, torrential rains, and flooding have destroyed houses and infrastructure in the city of Aswan and on the Sinai peninsula. Twenty-six electricity towers have collapsed due to the storm. Additionally, the storms have sunk a boat and damaged the airport in Sharm el Sheikh. Five of Egypt's ports, including the main Mediterranean port in Alexandria, are closed due to heavy rain and flooding. The town of Al Arish in northern Sinai suffered extensive damage on Tuesday and Wednesday. Electricity and telecommunication networks were destroyed and the town's main hospital has completely shut down due to the flooding. Patients, including 13 infants in incubators, have been transferred to clinics and hospitals in neighbouring provinces. Hospital damages are estimated to be in the millions of dollars, the hospital's manager said. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is travelling to Al Arish from the country's capital, Cairo, on Wednesday to inspect the damage. Ali Qotb, the official spokesman for the national Weather Institute, said the unstable conditions are expected to continue until the end of this week. President Hosny Mubarak has travelled to both Sharm el Sheikh and Aswan this week to inspect the damage caused by the flooding. Mubarak ordered compensation for those who lost their homes due to the floods, as well as the allocation of lands on which to rebuild the lost houses. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu