Snow Storm Set to Worsen as Schools Close for 3rd Straight Day

A storm that has been lashing Lebanon since the weekend dropped snow on the coast in northern areas, blocked major mountainous roads and forced the closure of schools for a third day as the worst is yet to come.

The National News Agency said Wednesday that the snow reached the coast in the northern town of Batroun. It also reached 400 meters above sea level in the northern Akkar district.

Residents of the area which has been witnessing a power failure since Tuesday rushed to buy diesel for heating.

Sahel Akkar, the town of Sheikh Zinad and the areas of al-Arida, Hekr al-Dahri and Sammaqiyeh witnessed severe flooding after al-Istwan and al-Kabir rivers burst their banks, causing severe damage to crops, the NNA said.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported that Civil Defense teams have halted reopening mountainous roads that have been blocked by the snow after the storm intensified.

It also said that the Dahr al-Baidar road will be closed starting 6:00 p.m. Wednesday until 4:00 a.m. Thursday.

In southern Lebanon's Nabatiyeh governorate, the Beaufort Castle was decorated in white as a thin layer of snow covered areas near the market town of Nabatiyeh.

Several mountainous roads were also blocked, NNA said.

In Hasbaya also in the South, the blizzard dumped two meters of snow on Mount Hermon as snow reached areas 500 meters above sea level.

Flood waters also heavily damaged agricultural land after the Hasbani River burst its banks.

Remaining in the South, the city of Bint Jbeil and nearby areas were covered by a thin layer of snow, which fell at altitudes of 580 meters.

The roads in the area remain accessible to cars despite a heavy fog enveloping in the region.

Snow also covered Maroun al-Ras as efforts were underway to reopen the road that connects the town to Bint Jbeil and Yaroun.

Forecasters say temperatures that reached 4 degrees Celsius on the coast will continue to drop on Wednesday night when snowfall is expected as low as 200 meters above sea level.

Education Minister Hassan Diab ordered private and public schools to remain closed nationwide on Thursday.

Schools on Wednesday already remained closed for a second straight day.

The Meteorology Department said the storm, which has claimed four lives and paralyzed the country, will start to dissipate on Thursday morning.

A meteorologist at the Beirut airport reported 5.5 centimeters of rain in 24 hours.

Beirut and its suburbs also had a share of damages after al-Ghadir river burst its banks and caused severe flooding in the southern suburb of Hay al-Sellom.

The floods invaded homes and shops, turning the streets into ponds and wreaking havoc in the impoverished area.

The flooding has however subsided as Civil Defense teams worked hard throughout the day to ease the flooding, but fears remain of any collapse in infrastructure caused by the floods.

NNA says around 2,000 residential units and a large number of shops are built on the river's banks. The level of water on the streets exceeded 50 centimeters on Tuesday.

North of Beirut, the river in Antelias caused heavy material damage to houses near its banks. The seaside road under the Nahr al-Kalb bridge was also blocked after the level of the river's water rose.

In the Bekaa Valley and mainly in its west and in Rashaya, the storm dumped 50 centimeters of snow in towns 1,200 meters above sea level.

Several villages, including Ain Ata, Yanta and Deir al-Ashayer, were isolated while other towns such as al-Srireh suffered damages from unrelenting rain water that swamped the area.