Syrian family has decided to leave their tent and move towards the local mosque. (Courtesy of Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT —The body of a 7-year-old Syrian girl was found on Saturday by the Civil Defense after heavy rainfall, hailstorms and snowfall overnight in northern Lebanon.
Towns near al-Kabir River and al-Astawan River were flooded for the second time in two weeks, following a storm on Friday.
The Civil Defense told L'Orient Today that they found the 7-year-old, who had been swept away by the floods, in farming land near her home in the Blana al-Haisa village of Akkar.
Tractors trying to clear snow-blocked roads in Akkar, north Lebanon. (Courtesy of Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
The heavy rains also triggered rockfalls on the outskirts of the locality of Qemmamine, in the forest region of Wadi Jhannam, which separates the Akkar district from that of Minyeh-Dinnieh (North Lebanon), the Sentiers du Akkar association said in a statement. The collapse caused significant damage to agricultural land, but no injuries were reported.
Elsewhere in the country, roads were blocked by snow, and the civil defense posted on X that it had pulled several cars from flooded areas in Laqlouq, Jbeil and Ayoun al-Siman in Kesrouan district.
On Friday, tents in the Summaqieh Syrian refugee camp in Akkar were submerged in water, residents of the area told L'Orient Today. The camp is especially vulnerable to flooding due to its proximity to al-Kabir River.
Maher Zeidan, a camp resident, said that when his tent flooded, he and his three children took refuge in a relative's house. They fear that worsening flood conditions could pose a serious threat to their lives. Zeidan's two brothers, each with their own families, also evacuated their children to safer houses outside the camp.
"Our elderly parents had to leave as well; they can't endure such harsh conditions. I'm now in a tent with my two brothers, hoping that the situation won't escalate further," said Zeidan.
This isn't the first time the refugee camp has experienced flooding this winter due to heavy rainfall. In January, a rainstorm caused water to collect waist-deep in the camp.
Lebanon regularly faces flooding and traffic disruptions during periods of heavy rainfall. In November 2022, a man lost his life after being swept away by floodwaters in Kesrouan. And in December 2023, a family of Syrian refugees was trapped by a torrent of mud that buried one of the rooms in the building where lived in Mizyara, resulting in the deaths of four children.
Reporting contributed by Madeline Edwards and Michel Hallak.