Once again we see that even limited heavy rainfall can result in flooding in prone areas of Israel as was the case on Monday, 10 Marcheshvan. Heavy damage was reported in some areas in addition to major traffic snarls. In the heart of the storm a 78-year-old man was killed when he fell from a roof that he was trying to repair on his balcony.

A major storm with heavy winds began in northern Israel during the early morning hours. That storm was very short, 15 minutes, but it left a trail of damage as it knocked many hot water tanks off of rooftops.

In the Krayot area trees were knocked down and some electric lines were downed. There were also reports of damage to vehicles including some broken windows from the heavy hail.

Magen David Adom in the Carmel area reported it responded to weather related calls including a 38-year-old male who was injured when a window in his home was blown out. In another case, a pedestrian was struck by a branch that was torn from a tree. A 72-year-old man in Kiryat Bialik was also injured by flying glass.

There was water damage in the main terminal of Ben-Gurion International Airport as maintenance crews has to move in to push out the water leaking into the building. There was flooding in many other areas as well. 60mm (2.3 inches) of rainfall was recorded in the area of the airport in less than an hour. In the Golan Heights there was 32mm (1.2”) of rainfall, 17mm (0.66”) in Tzfas and a mere 5mm in Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)