Three residents of a township, one of them a nine-year-old girl, died as a result of flooding touched off by heavy rain throughout Israel today.
Waters pouring down from the hills filled the wadis turning them into turbulent streams. The girl, of Kiryat Gat township, fell into a wadi and two men jumped into the water in an effort to save her but were themselves swept away by the current. The bodies of the two men were found later near Ashdod and the search for the missing girl continued.
The rains cut off communications throughout the Negev and southern Israel. Roads were inundated in Beersheba, Eilat, and Ein Geddi. Most of the southwestern Negev roads were flooded. The isolated settlements were provided with food by helicopters which also served as ambulances where they were needed.
The entire village of Beit Shikma near Ashkalon was evacuated for the night as the water poured into houses. Livestock were released when cowsheds became flooded. Both people and animals returned to the village as the waters subsided. A number of buses en route to the Negev were halted by the rising waters and the passengers were given temporary shelter at service stations.
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