Civil Defense members in Saida, South Lebanon, push a car stuck in floodwater amid a storm on 5 Feb. 2023. (Courtesy of: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A winter storm currently hitting Lebanon caused damage and cut off roads in both the north and south of the country, the state-run National News Agency and L’Orient Today’s regional correspondents reported on Sunday.
“The storm … paralyzed navigation and fishing in the port of Saida for the first time this season. The fishermen were unable to go out on their usual sailing trip,” the NNA reported.
The Civil Defense in Saida meanwhile intensified work to "open roads after they were flooded" and to "evacuate citizens stuck in their cars in different areas in Saida and tow their cars" after they became stuck on flooded streets, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the south reported.
In the South, the storm intensified at dawn, accompanied by strong winds, lightning and thunder. The rain fell heavily on the coast, interspersed from time to time with showers of hail, while a significant drop in temperatures was recorded in the nearby mountainous areas, especially in eastern Saida, which experienced a wave of frost and thick fog, the NNA reported.
In the north, "many mountain roads are cut off, and the Ministry of Public Works’ bulldozers are facing difficulty in re-establishing road connections between mountain towns due to heavy snowfall," our correspondent reported.
Bulldozers open roads after heavy storm in North Lebanon. (Courtesy of: Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
This prompted the concerned authorities to call on drivers to be careful, not to drive on mountain roads, and to equip the tires of their vehicles with snow chains, our correspondent in the north reported.
“The various fishing harbors along the northern shore have also closed … due to the strong winds and to avoid the dangers of waterspouts and the possibility of waves reaching a height of more than six meters,” our correspondent in the north reported.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah and Michel Hallak