Israel verwacht sneeuw en storm en daarom zijn uit voorzorg scholen gesloten en wegen afgesloten. De supermarkten werden leegeplunderd uit angst dat men de rest van de week ingesneeuwd zal zitten. Het leger is zelfs in actie gekomen:
Some 1,000 soldiers were deployed to northern Israel and Jerusalem to assist residents during the storm, the Ynet news website reported. The soldiers sent are members of engineering, paratroopers, and home front command units, and in Jerusalem, will ensure that the hospitals remain accessible.
Een dienst zal echter wel in bedrijf blijven:
Israel Railways planned to increase its service from Jerusalem’s Malha train station.
Daar kan de NS nog wat van leren.
RP
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School canceled in Jerusalem as country braces for blizzard
IDF sends tanks to secluded areas in northern Israel; stations 1,000 soldiers in north and capital day ahead of wintry blast
BY MARISSA NEWMAN AND LAZAR BERMAN January 6, 2015, 8:30 pm
An Israeli woman carries a heater and a shovel, gearing up for the upcoming storm in Jerusalem. January 6, 2014. (photo credit: Hadas Parush/Flash90)
The Jerusalem municipality on Tuesday canceled school in the capital on Wednesday as the country geared up for a predicted major winter storm.
The directive applies to all elementary and high schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced that all classes would be canceled on Wednesday and Thursday.
Shortly after the Jerusalem municipality announcement, the Education Ministry said schools would also be called off in the Gush Etzion bloc, Hebron, and the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council.
In preparation for the blizzard, which is expected to dump dozens of centimeters of snow in the north and central mountains starting Wednesday, the IDF sent tanks to areas in northern Israel that may be cut off due to the snowstorm.
In Safed, the roads to the northern city will be closed off starting at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Some 1,000 soldiers were deployed to northern Israel and Jerusalem to assist residents during the storm, the Ynet news website reported. The soldiers sent are members of engineering, paratroopers, and home front command units, and in Jerusalem, will ensure that the hospitals remain accessible.
Residents of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa got an early taste of the storm as strong winds traveling at up to 70 km Tuesday downed a number of trees.
Heavy pollution was also seen nationwide, with the western Negev seeing 38 times more pollution than its normal rates, as Jerusalem’s pollution went up 25-fold.
In Beersheba, the pollution was recorded at 31 times its normal level, according to the Walla news website. The pollution was expected to continue through Wednesday, and people with heart conditions, pregnant women, and the elderly advised to avoid any strenuous activity outdoors.
The approaching storm, coming a little over a year after a winter storm walloped the country, leaving areas without electricity, water or road access for days, has spurred a flurry of preparations in the Jerusalem area.
Police plan to close roads in and out of the capital as the snow begins or even an hour before on Wednesday to keep cars from being trapped on main arteries in a repeat of the December 2013 storm.
Jerusalemites spent the early part of the week making runs to local supermarkets to stock up on dairy products, water, canned goods, oil, and flour.
Some supermarkets in the capital saw their supply of water and fresh meat run out on Tuesday.
Many sotres also ran out of gas heaters as residents attempted to prepare for prolonged power cuts and frigid temperatures.
The Shufersal chain saw a spike in purchases in recent days at its Jerusalem and Safed branches, as did Rami Levy supermarkets in Jerusalem and the Etzion bloc, the Walla news site reported.
“We are talking about a growth of 250 percent percent from an average weekday,” said Rami Levy, head of the eponymous chain. “People are buying everything, but primarily meat for Shabbat, baby products, and drinks, especially mineral water. They are afraid of being stuck without food on Shabbat, and are buying enough to last even till Sunday.”
Levy told Walla that his branches would remain open during the storm.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in a planning meeting Tuesday ahead of the storm. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and district police chief Chico Edri took part in the meeting, along with IDF, emergency services, and welfare services representatives.
“We have three missions,” said Netanyahu. “The first mission is saving lives, the second mission is continuing vital services, and the third mission is mutual help — residents helping residents.”
School field trips planned for Wednesday to Sunday in areas expecting rain and snow have been called off.
The Education Ministry’s information hotline is 1-800-250-025.
An announcement by the Jerusalem municipality said that police would shut down Routes 1 and 443 in and out of the city once snow began falling. The municipality also asked residents to refrain from non-critical travel.
Israel Railways planned to increase its service from Jerusalem’s Malha train station.
An IDF armored personnel carrier is seen clearing a snow-covered street in Jerusalem after a major snow storm hit the city over the weekend, December 15, 2013 (photo credit: Meital Cohen/Flash90)
The Jerusalem hotline for updates is *8787.
Israel’s Meteorological Service said Tuesday that rain would start in the northern and coastal regions before spreading to the center of the country. Snow was expected to begin Tuesday on Mount Hermon, spreading to reach mountains in the Galilee by evening.
The IMS predicted rain and heavy winds overnight in the north and central regions, with flood warnings in effect for rivers in the Judean Desert and Jordan Valley, and sandstorms in the south.
Snow is expected to reach Jerusalem and the surrounding hills on Wednesday around noon, while heavy rains buffet the coast. Intermittent snow and cold weather was forecast into Sunday.
Some forecasts predicted as much as two feet of snow (62 centimeters) for higher elevations in northern Israel and in the high-altitude Etzion Bloc, south of Jerusalem.
Barkat asked Jerusalem residents to take responsibility for their homes and to be proactive in checking on their neighbors.
He added that snowplows were ready and waiting to clear the roads, after which they will be reopened to traffic. There are 150 snowplows waiting to clear the capital’s roads, significantly more than the 90 that struggled to handle last year winter’s snowstorm.
The IDF Home Front Command urged residents to prepare water, dry goods, emergency flashlights and batteries, warm clothes and blankets, a radio with batteries, a fully charged cellphone and spare battery, and a generator, in addition to checking gutters and tree branches that could fall during the storm.
Municipal authorities in Jerusalem on Sunday began pruning dangerous branches on trees in public areas as well as conducting road inspections to look for potential trouble spots, the Hebrew-language Walla news website reported.
Unstable buildings were also being reviewed and the city hall made arrangements with towing services to quickly remove stranded cars to prevent blocked roads.
Firefighters and the municipal water board were both put on alert to deal with any emergencies or flooding in low places where the expected rain might gather.
Stuart Winer contributed to this report.
Read more: School canceled in Jerusalem as country braces for blizzard | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/school-canceled-in-jerusalem-as-country-braces-for-blizzard/#ixzz3O58pTUyZ
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