Egypt shut harbours at the major ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on the Mediterranean coast for the third day in a row on Wednesday due to bad weather, the Alexandria Port Authority said.

The decision to close the ports was made as high waves and wind speeds reached levels that "do not allow the safe movement of boats,” said port authority spokesman Reda Ghandour.

This is the second closure within a few days. The two ports, among the biggest in Egypt, were closed on Friday due to the bad weather conditions and reopened on Saturday.

The head of the Alexandria Port Authority, Tarek Shahin, told “all port departments to exercise caution and adhere to safety and security guidelines during the loading and unloading of ships in order to preserve lives and property” Ghandour was quoted as saying by state news agency MENA.

The coastal city of Alexandria has been witnessing bad weather and heavy rain for days.