Egypt reopened three ports on Thursday that it had shut on Wednesday due to a harsh weather front which brought a sandstorm, as conditions improved and winds stabilized, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.
Several Egyptian port cities and the capital Cairo were hit by a severe sandstorm on Wednesday, which prompted the closure of several ports.
In Cairo, winds reached over 50 kilometers per hour, bending palm trees along the Nile River. Visibility was down as an orange cloud of dust blocked out the sky and pedestrians covered their faces from the wind gusts.
On Thursday, the ports of Suez and Zeitiyat in the Suez governorate were reopened at 0700 local time and the Sharm al-Sheikh port in the South Sinai governorate reopened at 0800 local, the authority said.
Ayman Saleh, head of the Red Sea Ports Authority, stressed that the heads of ports should be in contact with the Egyptian Meteorological Authority to ensure the regularity and safety of maritime navigation.
