Four die as Lebanon hit by severe snow

Lebanon is bracing itself for more winds, rains and snow

Press TV,

9 January, 2013

Daily life is paralyzed, schools have been forced to close, both air and land traffic have been impeded by what was described as the worst storm in decades and has been lashing the Mediterranean coast and raging Lebanon since last Friday.

The storm has claimed the lives of four people so far - one of whom was a 7-months year old boy who was washed in the torrent of water in Lebanon’s south. Tens of people have been also injured as Lebanon’s Fire Department issued a statement saying that rescue teams have been working non-stop since last Sunday to free people stranded in their cars or whose homes have been flooded. 

Lebanon’s international routes and roads have also been cut off by swamps of water and landslides. The wind speed peaked at a 110 kilometers per hour destroying billboards and uprooting trees. Sea waves rose as high as seven meters high, the barometric pressure dropped to 750 and rainfall reached a whopping 644 millimeters - double the average compared to last year. 

In addition to the fall of casualties and extensive material losses of residential buildings, agricultural crops as well as infrastructure, Lebanon is bracing itself for the worst as the Lebanese people are in for a white weekend. Meteorologists have anticipated snowfall as low as sea level in the country’s North and at an altitude of 200 meters in the country's center and south. 

As Lebanon is bracing itself for more winds, rains and snow Lebanese MPs are calling for the establishment of a disaster management committee to control the damage. The storm caused casualties and damage and is threatening mostly impoverished regions. Just as the one we're standing in, where fears are high over the possibility of the collapse of entire residential buildings.