Video: Orange dust clouds engulf Cairo

Officials at Cairo airport said the sandstorm had caused flight delays.

An orange cloud of dust engulfed Egyptian capital of Cairo after strong winds battered parts  of Middle East with sandstorms, hail and rain on Wednesday.
A video footage on Facebook by TIME shows the entire city covered in a blanket of orange dust significantly affecting visibility. 

Sandstorm in Cairo today. Seriously no filter. ?????? pic.twitter.com/aYuyW6DZEK
- Na3em (@ibnubashir4) January 16, 2019

The video shows slow moving vehicular traffic in the aftermath of the sandstorm. It is reported in the BBC that people had to take cover in buildings to escape massive dust clouds. Several ports were reportedly closed and officials at Cairo airport said the sandstorm had caused flight delays.

Downtown #Cairo from the #sandstorm two hours ago... pic.twitter.com/prosL4y0W1
- Joey Shea (@joey_shea) January 16, 2019

Cairo , no filter btw. pic.twitter.com/5a72QxXpzs
- Wells (@Mohamed_Wells) January 16, 2019

Sandstorm in Cairo today. Seriously no filter. ?????? pic.twitter.com/aYuyW6DZEK
- Na3em (@ibnubashir4) January 16, 2019

??????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ??????.. ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????????. ????? ???????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????? ??????? ??? ???? ??????. pic.twitter.com/tsLg72M6mx
- Mada Masr ??? ??? (@MadaMasr) January 16, 2019

While Egypt's health ministry advised people with respiratory problems to remain indoors until the storm had passed. Several people took to social media to post orange tinted images of the storm and pointed out no filters had been used.

• MENA