Heavy rain fell Tuesday afternoon along Israel’s central coast, triggering flash floods in Netanya and parts of the Sharon region after an intense cloudburst dumped around 40 millimeters of rain within about an hour.
Several lanes of Highway 2, the main coastal road, were flooded and closed for more than an hour near the Poleg Interchange. In Netanya, entire streets were inundated, with eyewitnesses describing scenes resembling “rivers” flowing through the city.
Netanya submerged after sudden downpour
(Video: from social media)
Netanya submerged after sudden downpour
(Video: from social media)
Under the Hari Bridge in Netanya, one vehicle was trapped in floodwaters. Videos from the scene showed water rising nearly to the hoods of cars attempting to pass through submerged roads.
A Sharon region resident who was caught in the flooding told Ynet he feared his car would stall while driving his children home from school.
“I couldn’t believe what we went through,” he said. “The water reached the level of the car windows. It was frightening for me and the kids, but luckily we managed to get through without being harmed.”
The Netanya Municipality said that “due to a large amount of rainfall in a short period of time, several flooding hotspots formed across the city,” adding that all affected areas were being handled by emergency teams.
The Israel Meteorological Service said the rainfall in Netanya was estimated at about 40 millimeters within roughly an hour, and warned that rain was continuing and spreading to additional areas along the northern and central coastline. Flooding was expected in the Sharon region, including Ra’anana and Herzliya, in the coming hours.
By early afternoon, Zikhron Ya'akov had recorded about 2 millimeters of rain, while the Hadera area saw around 1 millimeter.
Meteorologists said the short-lived weather system is expected to clear by Wednesday, followed by a renewed rise in temperatures. Thursday is forecast to be partly cloudy to clear with no significant change in temperatures. A slight cooling is expected Friday, with a chance of light local rain in northern and central Israel, and additional rain possible over the weekend.