Torrential rain on the Zaafarana-Ain Sokhna highway prevented tourists and Egyptians in the Red Sea governorate from traveling on the road for over seven hours.
The Zaafarana-Ain Sokhna highway is the main road linking the Red Sea to Cairo, Lower Egypt and the Suez Canal governorates.
Tourist buses and cars crowded traffic checkpoints in Zaafarana and Somid areas after the police closed the road Wednesday evening until the weather improved. Hills of wet sand and stones accumulated on the road.
Some tourists complained that they were short on drinking water and food during the seven hour wait.
Ibrahim al-Shazly, who was on his way back to Cairo from Hurghada, said the cars lined up for almost three kilometers at Somid checkpoint.
Shazly said the travel agencies should have been notified about the closure of the road so buses could postpone their trips.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
