Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi announced on Monday that preparations for the referendum on the draft constitution have started nationwide.

The preparations include implementing security measures and providing locations to protect voters from the rain, El-Beblawi said.

Egypt experienced heavy rain for few days in December. Residents of housing developments on the outskirts of Cairo, among other areas, saw snowfall, which is unusual in Egypt.

The rain caused floods in several areas due to the lack of sewers, worsening the traffic in the already congested roads of Cairo. El-Beblawi stressed, however, that rain does not frequently fall heavily in Egypt.

"It is an accidental event, not a phenomenon,"  El-Beblawi said.

Interim President Adly Mansour announced a national referendum on the draft constitution will take place 14-15 January 2014.

The new constitution will complete the first step in a transitional roadmap, implemented after the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, and will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections expected in the 2014 summer.