Rainstorms flood Israel's streets

First heavy rains of the fall lead to flooding in many roads across Israel, with entire sections of certain roads shut down due to danger. No injuries reported so far

Raanan Ben-Zur|Published: 10.30.09 , 11:42

Friday's heavy rains have caused floods in central and Sharon region cities as well as on interurban roads. Many roads were flooded in Netanya, Raanana, Petah Tikva, Ganei Tikva and Kfar Saba.

There were no reports of injuries, but many vehicles were left stranded and their drivers were rescued by rescue services.

The Traffic Police reported that the tunnel from Highway 4 to Kfar Saba was flooded, as well as certain sections of the highway. Highway 2, the new Haifa – Tel Aviv Highway, also noted some heavy traffic jams near the Poleg Intersection near Netanya due to flooding.

Flooding in Netanya

In Netanya, many streets were flooded, and people reportedly had difficulties arriving at the city's train station. Liran Gordon, of Israel Railways said the company was working on a rail crossing near Hadera which caused delays at the Netanya station.

In Herzliya, rain water seeped into the city's Medical Center. Firefighters were alerted to the scene, and began pumping the water.

The floods also reached Petah Tikva, with a vehicle carrying a number of passengers getting stuck in a large puddle the city's industrial zone. Rescue teams were called to the scene.

Ganei Tikva, Friday (Photo: Adir Ben David)

In Bnei Brak, a tree collapsed over electric cables. No one was injured, and firefighters arrived to remove the tree from the road.

The Rishon Lezion Municipality were forced to close the city's Yudilevich Street after it was flooded, and one of the cars parked nearby sank into one of the gaps that were opened on the street. Yudilevich Street is currently under infrastructure works, which have made it more vulnerable to the stormy weather.

The forecasters predict a stormy weekend, with rains and thunderstorms to continue to fall throughout the night. The rain will continue to fall in northern and central Israel on Saturday and Sunday.