Photos: The 'Other' Storm - Israel's Floods

Arutz Sheva ^ | 15/12/13 | Tova Dvorin

[Eleutheria5]

While snow pummeled the Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and Northern areas of Israel over the weekend, the Tel Aviv area and the Western side of Israel faced torrential rains and flooding Saturday.

Total damages have been estimated to be over 300 million shekel thus far, according to Channel 2.

The floods have also proved deadly. Saturday evening, the bodies of two men were found in the Tze'elim Stream, near Arad. The stream had been flooded in the storm and had drowned the two men, who had been in the midst of a hike, medics stated.

Rain also hit Hamas-controlled Gaza particularly hard, causing hundreds of residents to be evacuated by boat, according to AFP. Some news agencies have estimated the water evacuations to have reached at least 5000 by Sunday morning. A Gazan told Israel Radio "Gaza has sunken."

The dangerous flooding follows a decision by Hamas to shut down a local power station rather than pay taxes on fuel to Fatah, a shutdown which caused at least one pump station to flood and three others to approach an overflow.

Despite dealing with its own storm emergencies, Israel is transferring fuel, pumping equipment and other supplies into the region in the aftermath of the storm later Sunday.

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[Eleutheria5]

Those Zionist Nazis./sarc

[BlessedBeGod]

300,000,000 shekel = $85,726,500

[Eleutheria5]

If it had happened a week from now, it would have been $90M USD, I’d bet (in shekels).

[SunkenCiv]

> Despite dealing with its own storm emergencies, Israel is transferring fuel, pumping equipment and other supplies into [Gaza]...

That should result in immediate peace. /s

Thanks Eleutheria5.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

This is an excellent opportunity that should not be missed if it happens again. Many parts of Israel are empty desert, so why not dig catchments? That is, if fresh water just runs off, it is lost, but hundreds of catchments could save a vast amount of water, which will instead percolate into the soil.

Once in the ground, it will only be lost slowly, and can turn a desert area lush for many years.

[Eleutheria5]

On a regular basis, farmers in Israel whether Jewish or Arab, build catchments and canals to exploit the rainfall. They also plant in valleys and terrace and cultivate the hillsides for the same reason. Terracing also cuts down on soil erosion.