Posted on 02/25/2003 9:19:38 AM PST by anotherview
Jerusalem residents taking advantage of the snow in the capital Tuesday morning. (Photo: Lior Mizrahi / Baubau)
Authorities were considering closing part of the Ayalon freeway Tuesday evening as the water level in the Ayalon River rose to within half a meter of the road level, threatening floods. Meanwhile, roads to Jerusalem reopened Tuesday afternoon after heavy snow brought the capital to a halt earlier in the day, with schools shut in the city and the surrounding area after some 20 cm fell overnight. The storm is expected to end Wednesday afternoon.
The stormy weather also hampered Israeli efforts to rescue 10 Turkish sailors who abandoned their cargo ship off the Ashdod coast.
The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was closed in both directions from the Beit Shemesh interchange up to the capital, but was reopened Tuesday afternoon.
Some areas of the West Bank, including the settlements of Efrat and Ariel, were also hit by snow, with schools closed there. The Hebrew University was also closed.
The Jerusalem municipality has asked residents to remain at home, and keep off the roads to allow emergency vehicles access to hospitals.
The city council has also set up a help line (106) and the Yad Sara, a volunteer network of home-care for support services for the disabled and elderly, can be reached by those needing assistance on *6444.
At the Western Wall, a lone ultra-Orthodox worshipper pressed against the large stones in prayer, his black beard covered by snow flakes.
Jewish seminary students from Detroit, Michigan, snapped pictures of each other against the backdrop of the Wall. "This [the snow] makes it more spiritual at the Kotel," said Gadi Bernstein, referring to the Wall by its Hebrew name. In downtown Sacher Park, teenagers threw snow balls.
"It's a moment of relief for all of us," said Avital, an Israeli woman in her 20s, as she built a snowman - complete with a broom and carrot nose - on a traffic island in downtown Jerusalem.
Just to the south, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, residents enjoyed the idea of being kept indoors by the weather rather than the customary IDF curfews. "It [the snow] is making us happy," said Hana Hania, 25, who lives across from the Church of the Nativity. At the shrine, marking Jesus' traditional birthplace, monks wearing gloves wiped clean the main gate.
But the southernmost city of Eilat, on the Red Sea, was untouched by the storm. "There isn't a single cloud," Eilat resident Pnina Ziv told Army Radio. "If we weren't working, we'd be at the beach."
The Knesset was to convene Tuesday as planned, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon canceled a speech set for later in the day.
Snow also fell in the Golan Heights, where it reached 0.5 meters, Army Radio said.
There was also heavy rains in the Golan Heights and other areas of the north, including the kibbutzim Kfar Giladi, Dan, Dafna, Sneer and Maayan Baruch, where people have been told to boil their drinking water due to heavy flooding.
Storms hamper rescue of Turkish sailors near Ashdod
Harsh weather conditions hampered Israeli efforts Tuesday afternoon to rescue Turkish sailors who abandoned a cargo ship some six kilometers off the coast of Ashdod, Israel Radio reported.
Ashdod port authorities said the rescue efforts were made more difficult by the stormy weather and waves up to six meters high.
Two Israel Air Force helicopters and an Israel Navy ship took part in the rescue operation of the 10 crew members, who abandoned in lifeboats after a problem in the ship's steering mechanism prevented it from reaching the port. Ashdod port authority also helped in the rescue effort, that lasted around two and a half hours.
The ship's S.O.S. (alert) call was heard by tug boats in Ashdod, another cargo ship sailing in the area, and an Israeli navy helicopter.
The crew was safely taken off the lifeboats, and evacuated to Rehovot's Kaplan hospital.
The ship was apparently attempting to anchor near the entrance to Ashdod port, when it ran into problems, causing the ship to begin flooding and sink.
Schools closed due to snowfall
Schools in Jerusalem closed at 2 P.M. on Monday due to the snowfall, while traffic jams were reported on all the approach roads to the capital.
Snow also fell in the Golan Heights and in parts of the Western Galilee, where the Hilazon River broke its banks Monday afternoon, blocking road to Kfar Rama.
The Agriculture Ministry sent out assessors Monday to check crop damage caused by the heavy rains, Israel Radio reported. The damage is estimated to run to millions of shekels.
The storms and heavy rains throughout Israel are expected to last at least 48 hours. In the north of the country, the Hermon ski resort was closed Monday due to heavy snow, while at the Dead Sea, the Ein Gedi nature reserve was closed to visitors because of flood warnings. The Ramon Crater in the Negev desert also saw some snowfall.
Many other low-lying areas are on flood alert, with local authorities preparing water pumps and emergency crews. In the capital, the local authority has a fleet of snow plows on hand to deal with a snowfall predicted on hilltops higher than 700 meters above sea level. Up to 85 millimeters of rain is expected to fall on the coastal region.
Following heavy rains in the last few days, the water level in Lake Kinneret has risen seven centimeters, covering the yardstick that measures the water level for the second time in two months.
The hydrological office worked to replace this measuring post Monday with one that would measure the expected water level rise, up to 212 meters below sea level. In recent years, posts have only needed replacement after they moved or fell into the lake.
The Public Works Authority has prepared 50 workers to operate 35 snowplows, bulldozers, power shovels, jeeps and other equipment in the north, and a similar amount have been put on alert in Jerusalem.
While the excitement is over the possibility of a white Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv and Haifa, where extraordinarily heavy rains are expected, the municipalities have positioned truck-borne pumps and mobile sewage collection systems in critical locations. In Tel Aviv, that means Rokach Boulevard, and in Hatikva Quarter and other southern parts of the city, and in Haifa in the downtown at the bottom of the Carmel.
Tel Aviv officials say they've been told to expect up to 50 millimeters Tuesday. The weather services are predicting that the snow will hold fast to the ground when it falls, and low temperatures could keep it on the ground until the weekend.
Israel Airports Authority has also made preparations for snowfall. Rosh Pina airport is most likely to be affected, and is liable to be closed in the case of heavy snow.
The PWA and police have also established a hotline telephone at 1-800-234567 or *955 from cellular phones for emergency calls relating to the weather.
Is that a Volkswagen???
In the States, not many JAP's would date someone driving a German car!!
(Maybe we know different princesses though...)
BITS
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