The torrential and unusual heavy rainfall overnight from Friday to Saturday led to flooded streets and the collapse of dilapidated houses, resulting in casualties in northern Lebanon.

Tragically, four children lost their lives early Saturday morning due to the collapse of a room they were in, in the Miziara area, Zgharta district, northern Lebanon. Fortunately, the parents and the eldest son survived the incident.

A source from the Civil Defense informed Sky News Arabia that the last body of the four Syrian children who lost their lives was recovered earlier on Saturday afternoon.

The heavy rainfall caused streets and citizens' vehicles to be submerged, including Civil Defense vehicles that were deployed to assist citizens.

Rainwater accumulated at the northern entrance of the capital, Beirut, leading to traffic disruption. Citizens found themselves trapped in their vehicles under the torrential rain until midnight.

An eyewitness in Beirut reported to Sky News Arabia on Saturday morning, stating, "Some citizens' cars are still stranded in the Karantina area (northern entrance to the capital), leading to the port of Beirut. The Lebanese Civil Defense vehicle that attempted to rescue citizens is still trapped in the rainwater."

Night Rescue Operations

Civil Defense teams conducted various missions, including rescuing citizens trapped by floods inside their cars and homes, evacuating people from vulnerable areas, towing vehicles, and clearing roads blocked by mudslides and rocks. They also pumped water from inside homes and warehouses due to the heavy rainfall that occurred since Friday afternoon in many regions, resulting in floods.

Civil Defense personnel used a bulldozer to open the road and rescue citizens trapped inside their cars after the water level of the Beirut River, which flows near the port, rose.

On the coastal road extending from the Nahr el Kalb to the city of Jounieh, north of Beirut, a large number of families were trapped in their cars. Rescue teams managed to save students from schools stranded by floods in two buses near the Nahr el Kalb River and transported one of the students to the hospital, providing her with first aid.

Water was also pumped from inside a house in the town of Broummana, according to eyewitnesses.

Torrential Rain

Meteorology and climate specialist Dr. Elie Khnaisser told Sky News Arabia, "Lebanon is significantly affected by climate change, and heavy rainfall is natural at this time. It contributes to recharging groundwater reservoirs. However, we must know how to manage this rain and disaster management as well."

 "We can benefit from managing rain scientifically in a sustainable way for irrigation and energy generation. Regarding disaster management, we have made significant progress, conducted studies on how to reduce the impact of floods," he added

He held municipalities and the Ministry of Public Works responsible and stated, "We lament the water shortage in the summer, and in the winter, we do not know how to manage this blessing, which turns into a curse, disasters, and losses of lives. Since last year, the same thing happened in the same areas."

Preventive Plans Needed

Deputy Director-General of the Civil Defense, Mirna Murr, told Sky News Arabia, "This problem repeats every year because we lack the necessary preventive and preparedness plans. We cannot determine the rainfall percentage before it occurs. We are not trying to shift responsibility to anyone, but there must be a preventive and warning plan. We witnessed floods last year, and the Civil Defense had to rescue people using rubber boats despite the old vehicles and the lack of material and financial resources. However, we are ready for rescue operations."

Road Maintenance Nonexistent

 "Lebanese roads appear to be in very bad condition due to the absence of necessary periodic maintenance for infrastructure and the successive ministers and cabinets' focus on new projects, neglecting chronic attention to road safety and infrastructure maintenance, including roads and drainage channels for rain,"  founder of the YASA Association, Dr. Ziad Akl, stated to Sky News Arabia.