A backhoe loader clearing snow on a street in Akkar, March 11, 2022. (Credit: L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Heavy snow fell in various mountain areas in North Lebanon, including the Akkar district, starting at 900 meters above sea level on Thursday and continuing until Friday, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in North Lebanon reported.
Here’s what we know:
• In Fneideq in Akkar, the snow reached 20 centimeters deep, according to the snow removal services, and backhoe loaders were working to remove the white blanketing this morning in the streets of the city. In Qamouaa, next to Fneideq, snow reached 35 centimeters in thickness, and authorities advised drivers not to travel on roads above 1,200 meters altitude unless absolutely necessary, due to the force of the storm with winds that exceed 70 kilometers per hour.
• Also in Qamouaa, bulldozers evacuated seven people trapped by snow, including women and children, distributed over two cars. These people were brought back to Fneideq. The strong winds led to the fall of a retaining wall of a house in Birqayel, another town in Akkar, causing material damage.
• At the Port of Tripoli, the wind was blowing in the morning at a speed of between 80 and 90 kilometers per hour. Navigation was stopped and work activity on the quays was impossible for the first half of Friday.