Cars battle flooded streets near Burj E-Arab International Airport west of the city of Alexandria (Photo: Nada Ramadan)
Egypt's inclement weather left at least 12 dead on Wednesday - 11 in three villages in Beheira and one in Alexandria.
Rain left homes flooded and traffic disrupted in northern parts of the country for a second time in less than a fortnight.
Eight of the Beheira victims died in Wadi El-Natroun City's Afoun, two in Abou Homos and one in El-Rahamnia, according to Ahram Online's correspondent. All three villages are located in Beheria governorate.
Three of the victims died after being electrocuted by light poles, the same way several people had been killed in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria last month when it had been flooded.
One of the three who were electrocuted was a 17-year-old boy named Amin Diab in Afoun Village, where 30-year-old woman Halima Kandil and 25-year-old man Ibrahim Mokhtar were also killed.
Kandil was killed in front of her house after falling into an sewage drain that was open as a result of the floods, while Mokhtar died after the ceiling of his home collapsed due to the heavy rains.
The only fatality in Alexandria died after an aging building collapsed.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity will pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds to each of the victims' families, announced minister Ghada Waly.
The ministry is also providing aid in the form of 400 blankets, 250 prepared meals and 150 dry meals to villages in Wadi El-Natroun City, according to ministry official Kamal Sherif.
Sherif added that daily allowances will be offered to the displaced families to cover their living expenses until they are able to return to their homes.
High winds and heavy rains in Wadi El-Natroun led to the injury of at least 19 people. All the injured have been hospitalised.
Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail visited El-Natroun - north of Cairo - to assess rescue and aid efforts in the city.
Meanwhile, Alexandria governorate declared Thursday an official day off after heavy rains flooded Egypt's second capital.
Rainstorms have pummelled Alexandria since Tuesday, leaving streets and some flooded and causing traffic disruption.
In the late afternoon, Tens of Alexandria residents in the Airport area blocked the Agricultural Road to protest the flooding of their houses.
Alexandria and Dekheila ports were closed for the second day to prevent collisions between boats or with the port's docks.
On 25 October, five people were killed in Alexandria when heavy rains flooded the city. Governor Hani El-Mesery handed in his resignation on the same day.
Streets west of Alexandria's Corniche were flooded, prompting people to walking on its railing. (Photo: Al-Ahram)
Rain and thunderstorms also hit North Sinai on Wednesday, flooding many of the governorate's roads.
Ismail delegated the governors of North Sinai and Beheira to decide whether to declare Wednesday and Thursday days off for public employees and schools due to harsh weather conditions.
Most parts of Egypt including Cairo will witness rainy weather on Wednesday and a drop of 5-6 degrees Celsius.
Head of Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) Ahmed Abdel-Aal told Ahram Online that levels of floods in different cities have unprecedentedly increased.
"Alexandria's floods in the streets became 37 millimetres deep on average after almost three hours of rain until 1PM [Cairo local time]. Wadi Natroun is estimated at 15 millimetres and Menoufiya 13 millimetres during the same period," he said.
"These levels are unprecedented."
Abdel-Aal explained that rains will continue to drop all over Egypt until Friday. "But not with the same intensity," the Meteorological official added.
Streets west of Alexandria's Corniche were flooded, prompting people to straddle on its railing. (Photo: Al-Ahram)
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