Tel Aviv beaches plagued by rats after heavy rains
Video provided to Ynet shows rodents, both dead and alive, being washed out with the water swept off the city streets.
Maya Jacobs, director of the environmental NGO Zalul ("Clear"), told Ynet: "This story repeats itself every year. During the first major rain, all the debris collected during the summer months in the municipal gutters washes out to sea. There is garbage, dead animals, and accumulated sewage residue. If they had cleaned the gutters beforehand, it would not have reached these levels.
"Three years association clearly makes it a lot of noise. This year we turned, and the Ministry of Environment contact your local authorities located along the coast, and called them to prepare in advance, clear the drainage channels, and do the maximum to minimize the damage to the sea and beaches."
Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality said in response: "Contrary to the claims, this is not sewage, but the water washed out from the streets. Each year, the first rains wash the streets of the city and sweep away the dirt that has accumulated over the summer from the roads, sidewalks and buildings. To reduce the volume of debris that is washed away along with rain, the municipality and corporation check and clean the underground water systems, along with the receptacles in the city."
The local council said that it had been working to ensure that the possibility of flooding in the city was minimalized.
"As part of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality preparations for winter 2014-15, this has been given top priority to prevent rainwater flooding during the season," it said.
"Ongoing preparations conducted by the municipality before the start of winter have included checking underground channeling systems; cleaning the open drainage channels; cleaning all the receptacles in the city; repairing the one-way channeling systems to the streams and the sea to prevent a backwash of seawater; removing the blockages accumulated over the summer in the channeling systems to the sea and streams; and further actions to prevent flooding due to rain."
