A 72-year-old man drowned on HaNachal Street in Binyamina due to the heavy rains that have poured down on the coastal region of Israel. The man was swept away with his car in a flash flood off of the road and landed in a wadi nearby. His vehicle was found only two hours later. Firefighters pulled the car up out of the wadi with the help of tractors and cranes, but rescue teams were unable to help him due to his elongated time underwater.

United Hatzalah volunteer Aryeh Chipkis who was one of the first responders at the scene said: “When we arrived at the scene we found the car submerged in the water after it had been swept off of the road and into the wadi. Firefighters extricated the car from the wadi and got the man out of the car. Unfortunately, there was nothing for us to do to help him and his death was pronounced at the scene.”

The floods across the coastal region in Israel caused by the heavy rains caused numerous other drivers and passengers to require emergency evacuation from their cars that were trapped in floods.

In the town of Balfouria, four people were trapped in numerous vehicles. Seven squads of firefighters using cranes were required to evacuate them from their vehicles.

In the town of Givat Nili, Firefighters and rescue workers are currently searching for a man in his forties who was reported missing by his son after having attempted to cross the wadi in his car. The son, a 27-year-old man and resident of Arara, reported that he was with his father inside the vehicle when the pair attempted to cross the flooded wadi when the car was swept away in the current. The son managed to escape the vehicle and alerted emergency services after he lost eye contact with his father.

Firefighter, together with search and rescue units, border police and regular police have opened a massive search for the missing man. A helicopter was brought in to aid in the rescue efforts.

Firefighters were called to rescue factory workers who were stuck on the second floor of a winery in Kerem Maharal. Five people have already been rescued while another five are awaiting rescue, as of the writing of this article. The workers are standing on the roof of the winery due to flooding.

In light of the dangerous driving due to flooded streets and highways, police have closed off numerous roads across the north and central regions, including Highway 89 which leads to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Police are diverting traffic to the hospital via other routes that are safer.

Highway 2 near Zichron Yaakov is closed in both directions as is Highway 652 from Mivtar Shoni to Binyamina.

Highway 66 near Megiddo was closed to traffic in both directions. Highway 6953 from Ein Ha’Emek to Mishmar Intersection was closed to traffic in both directions.

Ben Zvi Street in Jaffa was closed due to a sinkhole that opened up in the middle of the road that poses a danger to drivers.

Ha’Aliyah Street in Tel  Aviv near the La Guardia interchange was closed in the northern direction due to a truck that has gotten stuck in the flood.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)