Over 500 stung by scorpions in Aswan as extreme weather causes damage, pushes scorpions and snakes out of habitats

Over 500 people have suffered venomous scorpion stings in Aswan, according to a statement issued by the governor, as Upper Egypt enters its third consecutive day under a wave of storms and floods that have swept across several governorates, pushing the creatures from their normal habitats into closer contact with people.

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Saturday that three people were killed as a result of the extreme weather, citing exclusive statements from a Health Ministry official. Later on Saturday, however, Aswan Governor Major General Ashraf Attiya and the acting health minister both denied that three people had been killed by scorpion stings.

Dust storms and moderate to torrential rain as well as hail have affected a number of governorates in Upper Egypt since Friday, particularly those traversing the Red Sea mountain range.

Trees were uprooted and a number of mud-brick houses collapsed in parts of Aswan, TV transmission, internet and electricity were also cut off in some areas of the governorate, while the governor decided to close schools for the day on Sunday.

“Changes in the climate” are the main reason for the wave of extreme weather in the governorates of southern Egypt according to Director of the Center for Weather Analysis and Forecasts at the Egyptian Meteorological Authority Mahmoud Shaheen, who said that these changes have caused “some weather phenomena to be extreme and violent,” and highlighted the hail that fell in Aswan on Friday as a rare phenomenon for a region that is characteristically warm throughout the year.

The extreme weather, which is unprecedented for the governorate, has left behind substantial material damage and human losses that are still being surveyed to determine appropriate compensation, Ahmed Salah, an MP for the governorate, told Mada Masr.

A number of Aswan residents, meanwhile, told Mada Masr that scorpions and snakes, forced out of their natural habitats by the storms, have stung or bitten residents of most villages of the governorate. Many said they feared that the incidents would intensify as accumulated rainwater continues to flow down from the mountains.

Three residents of the Edfu region in Aswan demanded that antivenoms for scorpion stings and snake bites be provided in all hospitals, they told Mada Masr. Ibrahim Othman, who accompanied a relative who was stung by a scorpion to Aswan University Hospital on Saturday, told Mada Masr that he saw around 80 people with similar injuries arrive in the hospital in less than and hour while his relative received treatment.

Over 3,000 doses of scorpion antivenom were distributed to hospitals and health units in Aswan, Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed stated on Saturday.

Othman said that injuries caused by scorpions and snakes are common after heavy rainfall or dust storms in the governorate, most of which is in proximity to the mountains, as the heavy weather forces the scorpions and snakes to nearby residential areas. 

Two Aswan residents agreed, adding that they anticipated the threat of injuries as rainfall from the mountains collects and filters down to the villages of three Aswan regions that lie along the banks of the Nile.

Director of the Aswan Governorate media office Mohamed Hassan told Mada Masr that the governorate has pumped and drained off the water that has collected in the streets, and secured lighting poles and antenna wires, removing cars that were smashed by falling trees, restoring electricity connections and reopening drinking water stations.

Shaheed said rains reached the more northern Sohag Governorate on Saturday afternoon, predicting that the rainfall would later reach Minya and Assiut, with the weather event winding down on Sunday afternoon.