BEIRUT: Lebanon halted maritime traffic in its southern ports of Sidon and Tyre as a result of violent winds from an incoming storm which destroyed orchards, caused property damage and knocked out Internet in parts of the country Tuesday.
Air traffic, however, was still operating normally.
Fruits that had been blown off their tree branches littered orchards across the north, while at least one large Christmas tree displayed in the northern city of Tripoli was toppled.
Storm “Zina,” which is expected to hit Lebanon in full force Tuesday afternoon and continue until Sunday, also knocked down a transmission pole, causing Internet outage in and around Tripoli.
High winds, reaching up to 90 km/hour, have also toppled billboards and damaged cars.
“This is not the worst storm ever,” a source at the Department of Meteorology at Beirut airport said. “Lebanon has seen ... worse than that.”
The Traffic Management Center said Civil Defense workers managed to haul off a tree that had blocked a street in the Beirut district of Hamra.
Many mountain roads were still blocked by snow, including Sannine-Zahle and Mnaitra-Baalbek. Kefraya-Barouk and Dah al-Baidar roads were passable for jeeps and vehicles equipped with metal chains.
Heavy rains are expected Tuesday night and tempatures will continue to drop as “Zina” intensifies. The storm is being brought over by a low-pressure weather system from the North Pole via Eastern Europe, according to Michel Frem, head of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute.
Frem, who said the cold weather would continue until Sunday, warned of flooding and strong winds through Wednesday, especially in Beirut and the south.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday temperatures will drop as low as minus 10 degrees in the Bekaa Valley, Frem added.
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