Man, 71, killed in Binyamina flooding amid heavy rains; another man missing
Sunday’s death comes a day after a couple drowned in a flooded elevator in south Tel Aviv
A 71-year old man was found dead after his car was caught in a flood in the northern Israeli town of Binyamina on Sunday, the latest casualty of heavy rains that pounded the country over the weekend.
The man, who was not identified in media reports, was pulled from his car by rescue workers and declared dead at the scene. Authorities are also searching for a man in his 40s who was swept away by flooding in the area. His 27-year-old son managed to escape but his father was swept into a wadi, Walla reported.
Flooding was also reported in Nahariya and the municipality advised residents not to leave their homes. Rescue crews were called to save people in Umm al-Fahm, Kerem Maharal and other locations.
A man and two children were rescued from a car in the Shfeya youth village near Zichron Yaakov. Meanwhile, traffic between Acre and Nahariya was stopped due to the high water level.
South Tel Aviv residents on Sunday blamed local authorities for deadly flooding in the city over the weekend.
A man and a woman were killed in the basement level of a residential building in the south of Tel Aviv on Saturday, after becoming trapped in a flooded elevator during heavy storms. The two apparently drowned.
Officials said the elevator became stuck, possibly due to a power outage, and flooded with water.
Tel Aviv locals said that the municipality ignored its numerous warnings about the area’s infrastructure woes and failed to clear sewage drains of debris.
But Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai on Sunday declined to take responsibility for the flooding, saying “there were no drains in the world” that could have contained the “once-in-50-years” downpour.
Parts of central Israel saw record rainfall as the storm blew into the area Saturday, with massive downpours flooding streets and swelling rivers in some places.
According to Ynet, 71 millimeters (almost 3 inches) of rain fell in Tel Aviv over the course of a two-hour period, almost half the monthly average for January.
The Times of Israel Community.