One of the worst storms since decades has hit the Middle East in the past couple of days, causing deaths, destruction of property and crops, and power outages in many areas.

One of the worst storms since decades has hit the Middle East in the past couple of days, causing deaths, destruction of property and crops, and power outages in many areas.

Several roads in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan have been closed, while houses were flooded and businesses came to a halt.

The unusual storm has brought death and destruction to large parts of the Middle East in a band from Turkey to Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan.

Lebanon:

In Lebanon, four people reportedly died from the severe weather conditions.

Syria:

In neighboring Syria, water closed many streets across the country, and snow fell in Damascus.
The forecast report predicted abundant rainfall in the coming two days, as heavy rain and wind hit several parts of the country.

The snowfall in Damascus made some roads unusable, an interior ministry official said.

Palestine:

Two women died in the West Bank when their taxicab was caught in floodwaters and swept away. The taxi driver was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

According to Palestinian media, up to 500 people were injured and 400 houses were flooded in the West Bank. Power has been cut off in hundreds of homes in Gaza, and dozens of people were evacuated.

Occupied Territories:

Flooding closed the main roads of the Zionist entity, as the stormy weather paralyzed life in many areas.
Media reported many evacuations in the severely damaged areas especially in the Negev where people were stuck on the roofs. Media sources said that heavy snowfalls also covered the Golan Heights, Galilee, Migdal Oz and Beit El.

Egypt:

Egyptian authorities have closed down several ports due to torrential rains, strong winds and low visibility which have also disrupted Suez Canal operations over the past three days.

Egypt's official news agency said that ports of the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria and Dakhila were shut down since Sunday, while Nile Delta cities suffered power outages.

Navigation was suspended in cities like Damietta, northeast of Cairo, and the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal reportedly decreased by half due to poor visibility.

10 fishermen were reported missing off the coast of the desert town of Marsa Matruh, and searching was hampered due to the weather conditions, local media further reported.

Jordan:

The rare, heavy snowfall blocked all streets in Jordan's capital, Amman, and isolated remote villages, prompting warnings from authorities for people to stay home as snow ploughs tried to reopen clogged roads. The country's Meteorology Department said the storm, accompanied by lashing wind, lightning and thunder, dumped snow in northern regions and some parts of usually arid southern Jordan. The snowstorm followed four days of torrential rain, which caused flooding in many areas across the country.

Turkey:

Due to storms in Turkey, visibility was reduced in the country’s Bosphorus Strait forcing maritime authorities to shut a key shipping channel Tuesday, said shipping agent GAC.

The snowstorm prompted flagship carrier Turkish Airlines to cancel 76 flights scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, after dozens of canceled flights Monday, also due to weather.

The Dardanelles, which remained open, and the Bosphorus are the only maritime outlets for oil, grain and other commodities from Russia and Black Sea countries.