The move follows warnings from the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) of unstable conditions beginning Tuesday evening, with rain and strong winds forecast across several regions.

Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered hospitals and healthcare facilities to activate emergency plans to respond to potential health risks, ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said.

Measures include raising readiness in emergency and intensive care units, ensuring supplies of medicines and blood products, and checking backup power, water reserves, and evacuation procedures.

Ambulance services have been reinforced, with 2,400 vehicles deployed nationwide, including four-wheel-drive units for remote areas and ambulance boats for Nile islands. Coverage has been expanded along highways and in coastal governorates.

Authorities are also strengthening coordination through the national emergency network and monitoring around 300 flood-prone and low-lying areas.

Preventive measures have been stepped up, including monitoring water quality, controlling disease vectors, and ensuring the availability of anti-venoms for snake and scorpion bites.

The ministry said emergency operations rooms are running around the clock, linked to a central control centre, with hotlines available for public inquiries. Residents were advised to avoid flood-prone areas and follow official guidance.

Separately, authorities suspended schools and universities nationwide on Wednesday and Thursday due to the expected weather conditions.

The meteorological authority said the unstable weather will begin along the northwestern coast, including Salloum, Matrouh, and Alamein, before spreading inland. Rain is expected across the northern coast, Nile Delta, Sinai, the Western Desert, and the Red Sea region, with heavier showers and possible thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

Lighter rainfall may extend to Greater Cairo and the Suez Canal cities, while parts of Sinai could see brief but intense downpours. Conditions are expected to improve by the weekend.