Hundreds Stranded as Snow Blankets Lebanon on New Year's Day
Hundreds of people were trapped in their vehicles on mountainous roads on Friday as storm Vladimir that began two days ago blanketed the high altitudes with snow on New Year's Day.
“More than 700 cars are trapped between Aitou and Ehden and residents are urging the army to intervene,” LBCI television reported.
Hundreds of cars were also trapped between Faraya and Ashqout in Keserwan where traffic came to a complete standstill, LBCI said.
The National News Agency later reported that snow plowing centers and security forces were trying to reopen the Ehden road.
And as LBCI said citizens were trapped in their cars on the Arz-Ainata road, MTV reported that stranded people were urging the Public Works Ministry and relevant officials to reopen the Faraya-Mairouba road.
In the evening, the Internal Security Forces announced that all those whose cars were trapped in snow had been rescued, urging citizens not to use mountainous roads before checking the routes' conditions.
The snowfall has reached altitudes of 700 meters in Dinniyeh and also blocked roads in several northern mountainous regions, such as Bqarsouna, Nimrine, Kfarbnine, and Bekaasafrine.
The Dinniyeh municipality is working on reopening the roads in the area.
Temperatures have meanwhile ranged between 0 and 3 degrees in these regions.
The Internal Security Forces has announced that the Dahr al-Baidar road is completely blocked due to the snow and poor visibility.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Kfardebian, Hadath Baalbek, Bsharre, Tannourine, and al-Arz.
The South also enjoyed the snowfall with a heavy layer blanketing Shebaa.
In the eastern city of Zahle and the nearby areas, Civil Defense teams have been working on reopening the main roads, especially those leading to hospitals.
Coastal regions meanwhile are expected to witness rain and some periods of hail for the rest of the day and Saturday.
The storm has worsened the already dire living conditions for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Many refugees, living in tents and huts in the eastern Bekaa Valley, only came briefly out of their shelters on Friday to clear the snow so their dwellings would not collapse.
Elsewhere, Syrian children were seen tossing snowballs at one another and playing in the snow. A child ran around in flip-flops, unfazed by the cold.
In the eastern town of al-Marj near the Syrian border, the refugees said their biggest worry was the water, from rain or snow, leaking into the tents.
"We don't know when the tent will collapse on us," said a Syrian woman, who identified herself as Um Abdou. "When it's windy, we cannot sleep because we are scared that the tent will be blown away."
"Life is difficult inside the tent when it's raining and cold," said Jubair, another Syrian refugee who only gave his first name, fearing for his safety.
Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees -- equivalent to a quarter of the country's entire population.
M.T./Y.R.
Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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