Youth Hostels Are Being Readied as Shelters if the Red Sea's Roads Close, and Drains Open the Moment Rain Starts
The Red Sea Governorate has ordered maximum flood readiness: equipment staged in the most exposed areas, sewer manholes opened as soon as rain falls, and youth hostels and youth centres prepared to take in residents if roads between the coast's towns become impassable.
11 October 2026
Youth hostels and youth centres across the Red Sea are being readied to take in residents if the weather closes roads between the coast's towns, as the governorate raises its flood alert for a second week running.
Hassan Mawafi, Secretary-General of the Red Sea Governorate, has ordered maximum readiness and all necessary preventive measures against possible flash floods, citing the Egyptian Meteorological Authority's warnings of unsettled weather and rain that could reach flood level in several areas, according to Sada El-Balad.
The instructions he set out cover four things:
- Heavy and emergency equipment concentrated in the areas most exposed to flood risk, with the Roads and Bridges Authority told to widen its deployment and prepare staging points so crews can reach pooling water or run-off quickly.
- The drinking water and sanitation company to open sewer manholes as soon as rain starts falling, within the capacity of the drainage stations, to keep water from building up in streets, roads and residential areas.
- A fresh check that emergency machinery is serviceable and able to move.
- Youth hostels and youth centres made ready to receive residents should roads close or travel between towns become impossible, with safe places provided where needed.
The Meteorological Authority's Sunday forecast put the chance of light to moderate, sometimes thundery rain at around 40 percent over parts of southern Upper Egypt, and said rain heavy enough to cause flash floods may fall at intervals over central and South Sinai, the Gulf of Aqaba and parts of the Red Sea Governorate, as reported by Egypt Independent. It also warned of strong winds beneath the storm clouds, caused by downdrafts, and of lightning.
The statement does not say which parts of the governorate are judged most at risk, does not name the hostels or centres being prepared, and gives no end date for the alert. It follows Friday's storm, which flooded streets in Hurghada and cut power in El Quseir.