[Daily Star] Lebanon takes stock after heavy storm
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Lebanon takes stock after heavy storm
By Wassim Mroueh
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
BEIRUT: Extensive material damage emerged Monday as the heavy storm that hit
Lebanon over the weekend eased, while army and defense teams continued
relief efforts.
The windy weather and high waves caused Sidon's waste dump to collapse, with
dozens of tons of refuse carried by waves blocking the main highway that
connects the southern coastal city with the rest of the south and spreading
a foul smell throughout the city.
The storm also inflicted huge damage on Sidon's commercial and fishermen
ports.
Sidon's deputy mayor Ibrahim Bsat and the head of the fishermen's union Dib
Kaain toured the two ports with representatives from navigation companies,
where they were briefed on the damage.
Bsat said that the Higher Relief Council would examine the damage after the
storm subsides, in line with instructions given by Sidon's MPs Fouad
Siniora and Bahia Hariri and the city's mayor Mohammad Saudi.
Also in the south, Hizbullah's Islamic Health Committee worked to open roads
blocked by snow and removed trapped cars in the villages of Hibbarieh,
Kfarhamam, Kfarshouba and Shabaa.
The efforts came after Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, pledged to
assist relief work and promised aid for damage.
The party established a number of mobile clinics that provided medical
services to southerners. Hizbullah also provided blankets, mattresses and
food for the Palestinian refugees of Jal al-Bahr camp in Tyre, where houses
were flooded with seawater.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Mohammad Wahib Hussein, his
wife and three of their children were rescued by the Lebanese Army after
they were trapped in snow in the northern village of Mishmish, in Akkar.
Georges Abu Moussa, the director of the Civil Defense operations, told The
Daily Star rescue efforts were ongoing.
"We are answering every demand we receive, we are not suffering any
shortages in staff," he said.
Abu Moussa advised people, "especially inhabitants of mountainous areas, not
to leave their houses after 4 or 5 pm except in emergency circumstances
because ice might pile up on roads."
During the storm, wind reached a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and snow
fell at an altitude of 700 meters.
The electricity and telecommunications networks in the southern cities of
Tyre and Nabatieh sustained severe damage.
Thirty villages in the Bekaa Valley were isolated by snow and schools and
official administrations in the region closed amid electricity blackouts.
Similar electricity shortages occurred in the Chouf, as fuel demand
increased sharply. Schools also closed in Aley and Bhamdoun.
The storm caused defects in a number of power and conveyer plants affecting
power supply, Electricite du Liban said, promising the situation would
improve from Monday evening.
President Michel Sleiman discussed the damage with Telecommunications
Minister Charbel Nahhas during a meeting at Baabda Palace.
In the north, waves destroyed four boats in the Qalamoun port in the qada of
Tripoli.
During a news conference, Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi
Aridi urged citizens to adhere to instructions given by relevant ministries
and institutions when new storms hit the country.
Aridi said neither floods nor any major problems occurred on main highways
"despite the intensity of rainfall," which he said was because of "the
repetitive clearing [of sewage networks and waterways] which took place
around four times this year."
Several billboards fell on highways during the storm, wrecking cars and
blocking traffic. The minister highlighted the need for "a clear and
specific plan to erect commercial billboards that ensure road safety and
beauty along with sparing citizens any damage."
Fishermen along the Lebanese coast and seafront properties suffered the most
from the storm, Aridi said, promising compensation would be paid and damages
repaired.
He said all efforts are being made to open roads blocked by the snow,
stressing that coordination was taking place between relevant ministries,
civil defense and municipal unions. "Prior to the conference, I was informed
that Shabaa's road is blocked with snow, so I immediately sent bulldozers to
open it," he said, adding that problems were difficult in the village of
Yanta in Bekaa due to intense snow.
"Normal bulldozers cannot function, so I asked other bulldozers to perform
the task," he said.
Aridi said services continued normally at Rafik Hariri International
Airport, but stressed that preparations were undertaken to deal with any
emergency case.
The meteorological department of the Civil Aviation authority said that
Tuesday would see sporadic rain in the morning and would improve gradually
during the day, with limited increase in temperature.
An official from the department told The Daily Star Friday afternoon might
see rain along with snowfall at an altitude of 1,500 meters and would remain
until Saturday.
"But it is not a storm," he said. - With additional reporting by Mohammed
Zaata