Eastern Mediterranean – Deadly Flash Floods After Heavy Rain

by in Asia, News

Severe weather including heavy rain and hail affected parts of Egypt, Israel and Palestine between 24 and 27 April, 2018.

At least 12 people have died in the flooding, including 10 fatalities in Southern District in Israel, where a group of young people were hiking along the Nahal Tzafit riverbed in the Negev Desert. Fifteen of the group were rescued, two of whom were injured.

Other deaths were reported in Mamshit, also in the Southern District of Israel, and one in Bethlehem.

Media reported that streets flooded in central Israel, forcing motorists to abandon vehicles, and roads were blocked or washed away in the south where desert rivers overflowed. Surface flooding was reported in the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A severe hailstorm affected Arad, Southern District of Israel on 25 April.

Egypt

Heavy rain also affected parts of Egypt from 24 to 26 April, in particular Cairo and Giza.

Egypt’s news agency MENA reported that streets were flooded, houses damaged and major roads were closed, including Cairo’s ring road.

New Cairo, a suburb east of the capital, was the hardest hit, with electrical cables landing in floodwaters that trapped people in their cars, according to Associate Press reports.

At least 24 people were rescued from a vehicle trapped in flood water that was taking students on a trip to a nature reserve near Cairo.

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