CAIRO, Oct. 26 (Aswat Masriya) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the Egyptian Cabinet Monday that the country must deal with crises more efficiently to avoid casualties. 

Bad weather and rainfall hit Egypt on Sunday, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria being one of the most affected parts of the country, as five people were killed in weather-related incidents.  

In the meeting, Sisi said the country’s strategy in dealing with crises must change drastically to anticipate them before they happen and plan ahead. He had called for the meeting after flashfloods swamped Alexandria as a blocked drainage system failed to function properly.   

Late on Sunday, the governor of Alexandria resigned as many questioned the city’s preparedness to deal with the inclement weather.

Four of the five people who died were electrocuted when the heavy rainfall flooded the coastal city and power cables hit the resulting pools of water where people were stranded. The fifth victim had drowned, trapped in his sunken car.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told Sisi that the rain poured for nine hours straight, “at unprecedented rates.” In just three hours, 3.2 million cubic meters of rain drenched the city, which is six times the usual volume. 

At the end of the meeting, the president and ministers discussed several topics that “affect citizens’ lives directly,” including the ongoing development of the drainage system across the country, especially in villages.

Alexandria’s drainage network is weak because it has needed replacement and renovation for years, as opposed to the limited maintenance that the state is carrying out.

Before he resigned, governor Hani el-Messiry said the drainage network needs EGP 75 million to repair stations and to add a new network to match the population increase in the province.

The head of Alexandria’s drainage company, Yousry Henry also resigned on Sunday in the aftermath of the floods. In his last statements before stepping down, Henry said the network is under a lot of pressure because of the expansion in construction, adding that the company is trying to contain the situation and has renewed parts of the networks in more than 200 streets at a cost of EGP 140 million.

Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali has disbursed EGP 10,000 to the families of the five victims, just as Ismail announced the allocation of of EGP 75 million to repair the damage caused by the heavy rainfall in Egypt's second largest metropolis.

Wali announced on Monday that a subsistence allowance of EGP 100 will be given to each member of families that will be housed in shelters.

She added that there are field workers preparing reports on the damage to property and looking into cases that have been worse hit by the crisis.