Hurghada's Flood Defences Cleared Before the Rains: Three Dams, Four Lakes and the Ras Ghareb Road Culverts

The flood defences around Hurghada have been inspected and cleared ahead of the rain season, wadi by wadi.

Red Sea Governor Waleed Al-Barqi has ordered readiness raised in every city in the governorate for the rain and flood season, Sada El-Balad reports, with protection works and water drainage routes checked, and the culverts under the highways, the flood channels and the street rainwater gullies reviewed and cleaned out.

In Hurghada the field committee was chaired by engineer Hosni Ibrahim Abu Al-Wafa, the city's director of crisis and operations management, with Mohamed Riyad of the National Network for Emergency and Public Safety control centre, Ayman Mohamed Mobarak from the same centre, and representatives of the authority for roads, bridges and groundwater. According to the report its work covered:

• culverts cleared under the Hurghada–Ras Ghareb road at Wadi Beligh and Wadi Ashi
• two culverts under the outer ring road checked clear of dust, sediment and any obstruction
• three rockfill dams reviewed, in Wadi Abu Malka, Faleq Al-Waar and Faleq Al-Sahl
• four artificial lakes west of the outer ring road inspected, in Wadi Umm Dalfa, Faleq Al-Waar, Faleq Al-Sahl and Abu Malka, and confirmed free of silt and ready to take flood water

The committee also instructed the drinking water and sanitation company to clear the rainwater drainage gullies in Hurghada's streets, so water runs off quickly when rain falls.

The checks follow a similar push along the coast: this site reported last week that Ras Ghareb had been issued water tankers, a loader and backup generators as the Red Sea braced for rain.

For residents and visitors, the detail that matters is where the work is — the culverts on the Hurghada–Ras Ghareb road and beneath the outer ring road, the routes in and out of the city. Al-Barqi said field follow-up and coordination between the agencies would continue in order to protect residents, roads and vital facilities. Sada El-Balad's report carries no rainfall forecast, no timetable for the season and no cost figure for the works.