The Matrouh Governorate in northern Egypt was hit by heavy rain and floods yesterday, Wednesday, which flooded the streets of the city near the Libyan border, leading to the drowning of homes and graves, rising water levels in the streets, and damaging many facilities and private properties.

The Mayor of Marsa Matrouh announced that complaints and reports from citizens were being received in the operations room of the council around the clock, in coordination with the operations room of the governorate to assess the damage and quickly respond to rescue those trapped, amidst warnings against traveling on the coastal road and the routes heading to Sallum, Siwa, and Sidi Hanesh.

Eyewitnesses revealed that the areas of Al-Kharouba, Wadi Al-Raml, Al-Qasr, and Kilometer 4 were the most affected, while some valleys witnessed a large accumulation of floodwaters.

The governorate also decided to take all necessary measures to redirect the water to its course in order to protect lives and properties.

In a related context, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced that the protective works carried out by the ministry contributed significantly to safeguarding the city of Marsa Matrouh from the damages caused by the floods that hit it on the evening of yesterday, Wednesday, and the morning of today, Thursday.

The ministry stated that the embankment dam in Wadi Ismail succeeded in retaining 175 thousand cubic meters out of the total storage capacity of the dam, which is 250 thousand cubic meters. The reservoirs and recharge wells also succeeded in harvesting quantities of floodwater that ranged from moderate to heavy, resulting in some moderate floods in the areas of Wadi Ismail, Wadi Al-Raml, and Wadi Al-Tawawiq within the city, affecting several homes and roads in the area.

The ministry also announced that it is currently monitoring all conditions in the governorate, and it is scheduled to issue a statement later after completing the inspection of all protective facilities and harvesting rainwater as soon as the roads leading to those areas are ready for access.