Flash floods in Sinai and Ras Sidr

Jan 18, 2010

2 dead after flooding in Sinai

EL-TOR (Egypt) - Two died and at least nine were hurt as heavy rains and floods pounded Egypt's Sinai, forcing rescuers to move around parts of the peninsula by boat, officials and witnesses said Monday.

The Ras Sidr area on the west coast of the peninsula saw the heaviest flooding on Sunday night and rescue services used rubber rafts to search for the injured and those trapped in their homes, an official said.

' Two died and nine were injured in the town of Abu Sweira in Ras Sidr,' a security official told AFP.

Flooding blocked main roads in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh and heavy rains brought down the ceiling in a part of the airport, an AFP correspondent said.

Parts of Sinai including Taba, Nuweiba and Sharm el-Sheikh experienced electricity cuts as thousands of tourists in the popular diving resorts spent the night by candle light, in the worst flooding to hit Sinai since January 1994. -- AFP

The region of Ras Sidr in Sinai

The Ras Sidr region in Sinai stretches from the Oyun Musa settlement, down to Abu Ruweis, covering approximately 95km in length.

The red area indicating the said region on the map courtesy of Wikimapia.

Driving along the coastal highway South, the double lane highway for the greater part has vast expanses of open desert, dotted with Eco farms to the left, and to the right southwards well spread out holiday resorts with the occasional bedouin village settlements, and the town of Ras Sidr to the Northernmost point of the region. The coastal highway runs the length of the seafront with no part of it more than a few km from the white sandy beach resorts and public beaches.
This region is home to the Aleiqat bedouin tribe, one of the 10 bedouin tribes which inhabit Sinai Egypt.