‘General White’ Hits Lebanon, Covers Mountains, Blocks Roads
Fast winds, torrential rains and snow hit Lebanon Tuesday as police cautioned that bad weather would persist for three days.
Three people were injured in a landslide in the southern Nabatiyeh province as snow covered most mountains of Lebanon’s western range.
Police issued warnings to motorists against heading to mountainous areas, noting that roads are covered with thick fog, snow and ice.
Snow covered most villages of the upper chouf region southeast of Beirut, as well as the Zghorta-Dinnyeh sector in the north.
The weather forecast registered –10 degrees in the central Bekaa valley, as police and the education ministry ordered schools closed in mountainous regions during the storm.
Fast winds registered 70 kilometers per hour and are expected to reach 100 kilometers overnight, according to Beirut airport weather forecast.
The storm inflicted damage to fields, power and telephone networks in mountainous regions as citizens rushed to stockpile on food supplies.
The Army command, in a communiqué, said its naval vessels in coordination with UNIFIL’s navy rescued 14 crew members of the Lebanese-flag freighter ‘Victory Gevo’ which was drifting off the southern Sidon coast due to high waves and fast winds.
The rescued sailors hold Lebanese, Syria and Egyptian nationalities. They were evacuated to Beirut Naval base and are in “good conditions,’ the communiqué said.
The fate of the freighter could not be determined, however.
