(Jerusalem) Two people have been found dead after flooding caused by heavy rainfall in southern Israel, authorities said Tuesday.
“The army and emergency services recently located the bodies of the two missing in the flood,” the army said in a statement.
Police said they were a man and a woman, found in the Nahal Poran stream in the Aravah region of the Negev desert.
The emergency services have multiplied since Monday evening the operations to help holidaymakers surprised by the torrential rains, while the country is in holiday season, the Jewish and Christian Easter coinciding this year with Ramadan.
Sixty people, including “some washed away in their vehicles”, have been rescued so far, police said.
Since Monday evening, “heavy rainfall and high winds have caused flooding in rivers near highways 90 and 40,” the two largest in the country, police said.
Near the seaside town of Eilat on the Red Sea, several roads are blocked and police have asked people to stay away from flooded areas.
“We are expecting flooding in various parts of the country,” police said Tuesday afternoon.
