Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli said on Friday about 20 victims of the hurricane that hit the country on Thursday, according to the decision of the authorities, schools and universities will be closed on Saturday.
Meteorologists expect that the powerful hurricane that began on Thursday, which brought heavy rainfall, in some places with hail, as well as sandstorms, will last until Saturday. On Friday, the onslaught of the elements weakened, but meteorologists predict the resumption of heavy downpours on Friday evening. In Cairo, most shops and government offices have closed, classes at schools and universities were canceled on Thursday, and the working population was given paid time off.
During a government meeting, the Minister of Irrigation of Egypt said that there had not been such a rampant disaster in the country for at least 35 years, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers reported on Facebook.
“As a result of these weather conditions, about 20 people were killed throughout the republic,” the prime minister’s press service quoted him as saying.
Details about the circumstances of the death of citizens are not given in the press release.
At the same time, the local newspaper el-Watan reported on Friday about the death of eight people as a result of the collapse of four makeshift shacks in the suburbs of Cairo "May 15". The newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reports two deaths in the south of the country in the province of Sohag: a woman was killed in a fire caused by electrical wiring due to rainstorms, another person died in an accident due to reduced visibility on the road.
Sada el-Balad TV reported on Thursday that in the southern province of Qena, a six-year-old boy died after a tree fell on an apartment building, and his mother and two brothers were injured. The Egyptian waqf ministry has reported four mosques destroyed by the hurricane.
The prime minister thanked the citizens for having heeded the government's call not to go outside unnecessarily, and noted the role of public utilities and the police in eliminating the consequences of the hurricane. He also recalled the suspension of traffic on the railway and in the metro.
"Premier Madbuli also instructed the governors of all provinces to give time off to all schools and universities on Saturday so that the competent authorities can eliminate the effects of heavy rainfall," the press service said.