BEIRUT: Snow-covered mountain roads remained closed for a second day Thursday amid a violent storm that ravaged the coast and caused power outages across Lebanon one day earlier.
The National News Agency said overnight snowfall in the northern district of Akkar made mountain roads completely impassable at an altitude above 1,200 meters.
Bulldozers in the morning worked to reopen some critical roads linking major towns, the report added.
Police meanwhile said that the Dahr al-Baidar road linking Beirut to the Bekaa Valley is impassable by all vehicles, including 4-wheel-drive trucks and cars with chains on their tires as a result of the snow.
In the southeastern region of Marjayoun, the NNA said that most schools were closed because of snow piling up as high as 50 cm. Roads were also shut across villages in the region as bulldozers worked to reopen them.
The NNA said snow fell in southeastern regions as low as 500 meters above sea level.
Blowing over from Europe, Storm Yohan intensified Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Wind speeds reached 100 kilometers per hour, forming 8-meter-high waves that battered corniches in coastal cities. Accompanied by heavy rain and hail, the storm destroyed restaurants, damaged crops, brought down trees and caused widespread blackouts.
Coastal areas suffered catastrophic damage from the huge waves whipped up by the high winds. Beirut’s Ain al-Mreisseh Corniche was severely damaged, its metal barriers ripped out of the pavement by the ferocity of the storm. The Beirut Fire Department cautioned citizens to stay away from the coast due to the dangerous waves.
Restaurant Chez Zakhia, in the northern coastal town of Amchit, was completely devastated, according to the NNA, as powerful waves damaged the venue’s external foundations and flooded it with water.
A Civil Defense rescue center stationed in Jounieh’s port was also heavily damaged, and four boats sank in the city’s port as a result of the crashing waves.
To the south, strong winds uprooted trees, tore down advertisements, and caused power outages in Tyre and across the region. With waves reaching 3 meters, fishermen tied up their boats out of fear they would swallowed by the sea.
Sidon’s port was forced to close, as its facilities were ravaged by strong winds and 7-meter waves. Huge breakers swamped bulldozers at the city’s commercial seaport, dragging one into the sea.
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