In Egypt, the seasonal rain days and the regions of rainfall are well known; everyone is aware of the nawaat charts. Nawaat is plural of nawwa, the Mediterranean Sea storm that hits the North Coast, Alexandria included, with clockwork regularity in autumn and winter every year. By everyone, I mean the man in the street, fishermen and those who work at sea, local government officials, service facilities and civil defence authorities and, self-evidently meteorologists and weather forecasters.
Notwithstanding, and in defiance of all reason, a gruesome scenario replays every winter. The nawaat come at their regular, forecast times with their heavy showers, and end up flooding sizeable residential neighbourhoods, notably in Alexandria. This despite the fact that the dry seasons of spring, summer and early autumn offer a perfect opportunity and sufficient time to maintain and upgrade rainwater runoff ditches and networks. Also despite regular affirmations by officials that all measures to deal with upcoming storms are in place. Yet year in year out, it is the same old story once the rains hit. Huge ponds of rainwater block roads, cars half-drown in them, panic strikes pedestrians, and people find themselves under siege as those on the street cannot reach their destinations and those at home or in workplaces are afraid to leave their shelter to the scary flooded streets.
The same old story replayed in Egypt last month, creating a crisis situation and exposing gross failure on the part of local government. As usual, the storm and rainfall were no surprise, they were forecast and came at their regular time. Yet the panic, street flooding and damage caused by ineffective, dilapidated, poorly maintained drainage networks was notoriously the same as every year.
Again, the same clichéd news headlines reared their heads: “Wave of bad weather hits Alexandria”; “Nawat al-Maknassa arrives accompanied by torrential rains”; “Rainwater inundates the Corniche Road and pile up in perpendicular and parallel streets, blocking vehicles and citizens”; “Local apparatuses exert diligent efforts to sweep the rainwaters”; “The governor issues a decree to halt work and schools until matters are under control”. Nothing new; the same old story remains unchanged.
The video footage, pictures, and quotes mocking the bitter situation on social media testified to the genius time-honoured Egyptian tradition of humour that absorbs suffering through laughter.
What was new this year, however, was an incident relating to the usual ‘rain scene’ but in stark contrast to the typical official apathy. It concerned the visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to Alexandria on 19 November, which came on the heels of a nawwa. The Crown Prince and his wife were expected at the Jesuit Cultural Centre on Port Said Street, one of Alexandria’s main roads. I reproduce here what journalist and writer Amal al-Gayyar wrote in Al-Ahram on 22 November:
“The preparations to receive the Prince and his wife in the aftermath of the rains were the talk of Alexandria. Apart from cleaning the entrance to the city, and painting the lamp posts on the Corniche [the waterfront thoroughfare], Port Said Street was given an extensive revamp. It was repaved, its pavement borders painted, street vendors evicted, illegal signboards above buildings removed, as were unsightly trash cans. The facades of shops were repainted so that everything was sparkling clean for the Royal visit.
“Alexandrians were livid that officials were able in record time to zealously work to give the city a beautiful face, while its residents have for ages complained of dilapidation, chaos, and official apathy, but to no avail. The Prince’s visit proved that if officials take their work seriously, they can realise Alexandrian dreams.
“Port Said Street residents were in for frustration and disappointment once the Prince and his retinue left the street. Everything went back to what it used to be: street vendors rushed back to the road, marking the return of negligence and apathy and the end of cleanliness and beauty.”
I went back to my Problems on Hold file to leaf through what I had written on the rains over the last three years. I found nothing new; other than the visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, it was the same old rain story with its flagrant failures.
Watani International
3 December 2021