Three travelers rescued from vehicles swept away in flash flood in lower Galilee
Firefighters and police rescued three people from two cars swept into the Hilazon River in the lower Galilee by a flash flood on Monday, according to the spokesperson for the Firefighter’s Northern Rescue Unit.
Early Monday morning, two jeeps with a total of three people inside were driving along Route 804 when rising water caused the road to flood, trapping the three individuals in their cars and sweeping their vehicles away into the river. Four teams of firefighters rushed to the scene and rescued the travelers with a civilian crane.
Police blocked the flooded road and advised caution. “Drive cautiously and do not enter the water: The depth is unknown, even if driving in a vehicle,” the Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Police also blocked Route 90 in both directions to and from Tiberias.
A firefighter also rescued a mother and son from a flooded home in Arraba, a village in the northern Galilee, according to the rescue unit spokesperson.
The winter season has caused an uptick of floods and stormy weather.
Police received dozens of phone calls from residents in Arraba and nearby communities on Monday morning asking for help and rescue assistance, the Israel Police said.
Additionally, snow has been piling up on Mount Hermon. There have even been reports that snow could fall in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.
The Hilazon is the same river that took the life Cpl. Evyatar Yosefi on January 7. Yosefi, 20, was from Givat Shmuel and served in the Gadsar Paratroop Battalion. He was swept away while participating in a navigation training exercise near the stream where soldiers were working in pairs to learn how to navigate in the wilderness.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.