As Israel marked the onset of winter, with the clocks moving back one hour last night, heavy rain has been falling on large parts of the country this morning. In some areas there were hailstorms accompanied by high winds.
A building worker in Pardes Hanna died after a wall at the site where he was wroking collapsed on him.
The stormy weather caused several cranes on building sites in the Sharon area to collapse; there have been power outages in some places, and take-offs and landings at Tel Aviv's Sde Dov airport have been halted. Passengers have been asked to check their flights with the airlines. Ben Gurion Airport has not been affected by the weather.
In Netanya, a crane fell close to a residential building. Police and paramedics were called to the site. An electricity pylon in the city went up in flames near a kindergarten, but there were no casualties. There is flooding in Herzliya, leaving several vehicles stranded.
The power outages are expected to cause disruption to rail services, particularly in the center if the country.
Despite the extreme weather, temperatures have fallen only slightly. In Haifa, A maximum of 29 degrees Celsius is expected today; in Tel Aviv 32, in Jerusalem 28, in Beersheva 29, and in Eilat 33. The forecast for the next few days is intermittent rain with thunderstorms. Temperatures will fall appreciably, and there may be flooding in the south and east of the country.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 25, 2015
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