Written by Mohammed Aly Sergie, CNN Cairo
Storms that battered parts of Egypt have claimed the lives of three people and sent swarms of scorpions into their homes.
The rain-swollen Nile River flooded Egyptian cities such as Alexandria and the city of Alexandria in October, and started traveling east to the nearby province of Minya, where residents have been battling to fight the critters, according to a press release by Egyptian Meterological Department.
Egyptian authorities have reported that 500 scorpions have been killed in Minya and more than 20 households have had scorpions killed in their homes due to the strong rainfall, according to the report.
“Not only are scorpions more aggressive now, they are also very large, and actually there are scorpions that are really large,” Egyptian veterinarian Mohamed Adel said.
Egypt’s arachnid population is fed by rat droppings, and this is leading to the gathering of scorpions on people’s property.
Alexandria resident Ahmed Mekki told CNN that animal control services had arrived at his home and destroyed more than 20 scorpions in an effort to keep them from wreaking havoc.
“They took all the scorpions out, and then we got scared and called our city administration,” he said.
Although the BBC reported that one area resident described having up to 50 scorpions in his home, father of two Mohammed Abdel Sattar downplayed the overall numbers.
“There were maybe 20, probably 25 (scorpions), plus those from outside that found their way in.”
Meanwhile, some in the state of Aswan are in a better position to deal with the growing population.
“There are scorpions all over Aswan, they are common in life, but in Aswan they are so common that the state of Aswan Municipality has special teams that have been combating scorpions,” Egyptian media reports said.
Officials from the Metropolitan Municipality of Aswan told CNN that they employ a specialist team to deal with scorpions in the city.