Snow is getting dangerous

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Photo by my friend "ester"

The snow continues to fall in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Hills, in the Galilee and Golan, in the West Bank, and in the highest altitudes of the Negev.
No one expected so much snow (over 47 cm right now)  and for so many days.
What began as fun and pretty has turned into a national emergency.
The worst is that some 30,000 households are still without power.
With below-freezing temperatures it will be a cold night for these families with no heat.

Drivers are told to stay home.
Hundreds got stuck in snow on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway last night and waited up to 10 or 12 hours to be rescued.
The police and the municipalities could not cope and called in the army.
They were taken to Binyanei HaUma convention center which quickly became a "refugee center" for a thousand people. 

Streets inside Jerusalem were impassable and even the tram slipped off its tracks.
Trees are breaking or toppling over from the weight of the snow.

For us living down in the Negev the rain will continue tomorrow.
In my town, Meitar, we had trees down from fierce winds and some flooding in schools and public buildings.
In my apartment the electricity, telephone, Internet, and cable TV takes turns going on and off for the last few days.

I will be happy to see the sun again.

You can keep up with the bad situation through our local newspapers, e.g.
 http://www.timesofisrael.com/
 http://www.jpost.com/
http://www.haaretz.com/

Shabbat shalom
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