AMMAN, 16 February 2004 — Snowstorms shuttered schools and businesses in the Middle East yesterday and left a total of three dead in Lebanon and Jordan, while many called the weather a blessing for their water-starved country.
Strong winds buffeted Jordan overnight and snow fell heavily on northern and central regions of the country, including the capital Amman, trapping motorists, causing flight delays and closing schools and banks.
Snow showers also hit the southern governorate of Tafileh, where two people were killed when their car overturned, Petra news agency reported.
Civil Defense officials quoted by the agency said they had carried out 367 rescue missions linked to the bad weather.
All commercial banks and other financial establishments remained closed yesterday, a working day in Jordan, because employees could not get to work.
The Education Ministry ordered schools and universities closed in Amman and half a dozen governorates in northern and central Jordan.
Motorists were stranded and had to be assisted by civil defense crews. Meteorologists said that up to 15 centimeters of snow fell on western Amman, which is built on seven hills with the highest point at 1,100 meters. The snowfall, meanwhile, was welcomed by most Jordanians as a “blessing from God” because it meant more water for a country which ranks among the world’s 10 poorest in water resources.
In Israel, the first major snowfall of the year upset the road map for peace with the Palestinians and forced the closure of schools in Jerusalem and parts of the north.
A planned meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s bureau chief and Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei’s top aide in Jerusalem to set up a long-awaited summit between the two leaders was postponed indefinitely due to the inclement weather.
Around nine centimeters of snow were recorded in the center of Jerusalem after a steady fall that began on Saturday afternoon and resumed yesterday. The weight of the snow caused a wall to collapse near the Maghreb Gate, which overlooks a section of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall where women go to pray.
In Lebanon, hundreds of villages remained cut off by snow-choked roads and an elderly resident of Chtaura, east of Beirut, was electrocuted by a fallen high-voltage wire, police said.
Major roads were blocked, including the route between Beirut and Damascus.
Snowfall that began Friday across Syria closed most of the mountain roads around Damascus, weather services reported.
