Lebanon's coastal areas flooded after torrential rain


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

Parts of Lebanon have been battered by heavy rain and flooding, with images online showing cars submerged as muddy water gushes through streets.

The Keserwan-Jbeil governorate was particularly hard hit, amid the arrival of the country’s winter rains.

Lebanon’s Civil Defence was mobilised to rescue people trapped in their cars and to tow vehicles.

Amid flooding there were also extensive traffic jams on the coastal Jounieh motorway, a busy main road that leads to and from Beirut.

In Kfar Habab, an area north-east of Beirut, the streets resembled rivers as water rushed down the hill.

Contractors worked overnight to clear debris and dirt left by the floods, said Ali Hamie, Minister of Public Works and Transport.

Lebanon was already struggling with its ailing infrastructure before an economic crisis, that first struck in 2019, worsened the situation.

Car accidents are common and roads are often uneven or poorly paved. With winter only just beginning, further flooding is expected in the coming months.

Residents are set for a tough winter amid the crisis, with much of the population plunged into poverty and the local currency losing more than 95 per cent of its value.

Basics such as medicine, clean water and bread are in short supply. A near total absence of state electricity means many will struggle to heat their homes — or will have to rely on expensive, diesel-guzzling generators.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group C

Liverpool v Napoli, midnight

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Super Rugby play-offs

Quarter-finals

  • Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
  • Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
  • Lions 23, Sharks 21
  • Chiefs 17, Stormers 11

Semi-finals

Saturday, July 29

  • Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
  • Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
The biog

Siblings: five brothers and one sister

Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym

Favourite place: UAE

Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera

What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books

The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

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Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

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Updated: November 30, 2022, 11:55 AM