The Storm of the Century - Aftermath II

It is exactly a month since the Storm of the Century dumped over 6.5 inches of rain on the Negev in 24 hours, more than had fallen in the past 10 years altogether. In its aftermath, dry river beds and wadis ran with flash floods, overflowed their banks, and washed away roads, guard rails, cars, trucks and people.

 Nachal Paran (A) and Nachal Meishar, about 40 miles south of Mitzpe Ramon

Nachal Paran is a dry river valley that lies about 40 miles south of Machtesh Ramon on the way to Eilat. Where it crosses Route 40 it joins another dry river bed, Nachal Meishar. These two rivers gushed with flash floods after last month's storms, overflowing their banks and washing away parts of Route 40. Some big trucks were unfortunate enough to try to cross Route 40 during the floods, where their drivers got into big trouble.

 Trucks caught in the flood waters of Nachal Paran

In the photo below a number of drivers and passengers get stranded on top of their vehicles as the flood waters rise.

A helicopter is called in to rescue the stranded victims.

The hapless drivers are pulled to safety in the nick of time.

 

Be careful when you drive in desert storms and don't take any unnecessary chances with water covered roads!