Thousands Stranded as Rainwater Cuts Off Airport Road in Both Directions
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Heavy rains rendered the airport road south of Beirut completely impassable on Wednesday, trapping thousands of people in their cars.
LBCI television broadcast footage of vehicles submerged in water inside a tunnel in the area and citizens were leaving the location on foot.
Floodwater was around 1.5 meters high inside another tunnel, cutting off the road on both lanes, according to the TV network.
Citizens carried out amateurish and primitive attempts to open the overloaded drainage canals ahead of the arrival of Civil Defense crews and vehicles to the area.
“The ministries concerned must do their job and Civil Defense cannot do miracles,” Civil Defense chief Brig. Gen. George Khattar told LBCI.
“The responsibility of what's happening today falls on the relevant ministries and municipalities because they did not clean drainage canals ahead of winter,” he added.
Khattar stressed that Civil Defense crews were present on the ground, noting that the cut-off roads prevented Civil Defense vehicles from arriving quickly to the flooded tunnel.
LBCI said caretaker Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi was not answering his phone despite several attempts to contact him for an interview.
Meanwhile, acting Internal Security Forces chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous ordered all ISF units to deploy on the streets to help citizens stranded by rainwater and facilitate traffic.
Elsewhere, the coastal highway from Saifi to Karantia, Dora, Nahr el-Mot, Zalka, Jal el-Dib and Dbaye witnessed a severe traffic jam due to the heavy rains that fell in the afternoon.
Some streets turned into ponds and citizens urged authorities to rescue them from their vehicles that were trapped in water, the National News Agency said.
04 December 2013, 18:19
510
You said it :) Although you're joking, i'm not sure who else can you accuse...
It's probably all the roadblocks holding the water back rather than terrorists. Also all the trash they through that keeps clugging the sewers...
If you simply teach lebanese (all sects included) that their country is not an open trash, you would end up with much less similar problems. Hezbollah or Mustaqbal, idiots will still through their kleenex and garbage out their car windows when driving...
Tripoli, Dahyé, Saida and many parts of Beirut look like any open air trash yard ...
04 December 2013, 18:34
114
hmmm who else to accuse? that's really an entirely new question for an m14er, i mean if you take away the HA scapegoat their whole cause-consequence logic falls apart!
but let's give it a try... hmmm who has been in charge of building the lebanese infrastructures since the end of the civil war and got tens of billions of dollars for that?
let's see... who was in charge of the roads?
could it be the CDR? noooo! of course no!
http://www.cdr.gov.lb/eng/select_projects_sector_D_action.asp
how about the sewerage systems? could it be also the CDR?
la2 la2, akid la2!
http://www.cdr.gov.lb/eng/select_projects_sector_D_action.asp
04 December 2013, 18:37
114
direct links dont work on their website, go to
"Ongoing contracts listed by Sector"
and check out "transportation" and "water"
04 December 2013, 22:29
27
The problem are caused by deforestation. They should stop giving building permits. And reward those who chose to keep a less profitable Boustan.
04 December 2013, 18:35
00
The above commentators are both idiots blaming the wrong people for the problems caused now and still each year to be caused by the bad construction of the Motorways and the Tunnels. REMEBER always that the man who build them was HARIRI, the one who took Beirut its Land and it's Sea under the name of SOLIDERE....
04 December 2013, 19:12
00
This is another reason why we should extend the term of our good-for-nothing president-by-parachute and a justification for extending the term of those good-for-nothing members of parliament who were elected by our good-for-nothing-but-superficial-stupidities fascist, racist and bigoted Lebanese.
04 December 2013, 21:38
05
Quite the contrary my friend. Laughter is the key to longevity.
05 December 2013, 01:51
52
It's not like m14 days are better. Stop thinking one is better than the other. All these politicians suck! They are greedy and would and have sold this country in a heartbeat, while they chase the almighty dollar.
05 December 2013, 04:08
23
As a outside observer of lebanon and a born lebanese, when lebanon judges politicians and leaders based on their performance in regard to the portfolios they are assigned and holds them accountable thats one of the first signs of a democracy
05 December 2013, 04:18
22
People when being a lebanese means i am a muslim, christian , jew , etc all respect to all other just as important religions the first thing we are is human beings we all have families and we all deserve respect from everyone regardless or our beliefs i believe every body should have an opinion but if you don't have something nice to say keep it to yourself
05 December 2013, 04:58
33
lebcutie .... the bright side was eclipsed by your less than intelligent post. Could you please post something meaningful.
