Floods grind Sinai to halt

Heavy rains sweeping the Sinai area of St Catharine have damaged communications links, as flash floods cut main line wires in the village of Wadi Feran, isolating it from the rest of the region. Residents demanded Egyptian officials intervene to ease damages, after houses and gardens were demolished by the inclement conditions. Meanwhile, tourist destinations in hotels and villages in the Sinai have been suspended indefinitely after Internet outages. Residents near St Catherine have been forced to over long distances by foot, while others climbed over the mountains, in order to access mobile networks and communicate with relatives elsewhere in Egypt.