JAKARTA - The city of Alexandria in Egypt was hit by extreme weather on Saturday, May 31, with strong winds, thunderstorms, and sudden hail. Local authorities immediately declared an emergency status and postponed the implementation of school exams for the safety of residents.
In an official statement quoted by Anadolu, the state government of Alexandria said that the storm caused major disturbances in various city areas.
A number of fallen trees, damaged street lights, and several roads flooded.
An emergency team was deployed to clean up debris and suck up puddles to restore community activities as before.
Video footage shared on social media shows the condition of flooded roads, lightning strikes, collapsed electric poles, damaged vehicles, and heavy rains that trigger panic among residents.
Egyptian Meteorological Agency's Early Forecast and Warning Director Mahmoud Shaheen explained that the storm was triggered by a low-pressure system that caused temperatures to drop drastically and form a very low storm cloud.
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Shaheen called this storm a fast-moving weather system, but confirmed that there was no indication of a destructive cyclone.
Shaheen added that this kind of phenomenon is common in the winter and spring of Egypt.
However, the severity this time was caused by the downburst (downwind) and storm clouds that formed very close to the ground surface.
Alexandria Governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed ordered all agencies in the city to be on full alert.
He also asked the public transportation authorities to add a bus fleet to help students who were heading to the test location.
In addition, the high school level exam was postponed for one hour to ensure the safety of students and provide additional time for emergency officers to clean up dangerous areas.
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