One hour (and no additional rain) later...
Word to the wise: Israeli streets don't drain very well. Possibly because they don't usually need to.
P.S. New Haveil Havelim (the Jewish blog carnival):
http://simplyjews.blogspot.com/2009/11/haveil-havalim-241-blogoversary-edition.html
By the way, I took both of these pictures this morning about two minutes from our apartment. (These aren't pics taken from the flooding in Netanya about a week ago-- this flood is Kiryat Bialik's very own!) The roads have drained by now, thankfully.
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are crazy! Is there just not a rainwater-runoff system in place? We here in New England need about a day straight of rain to get that kind of effect.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the rain is probably good news for you, after the long summer.
I think there is a runoff system, but it might have been clogged... on the other hand, one clog doesn't explain why it was flooded all over Kiryat Bialik.
ReplyDeleteThis rain is especially good news because last winter we got very little rain... we never get rain during the summer, but this year the water deficit was especially severe because last winter was so dry.
It's still raining today! Yikes!
I'll explain why the streets get flooded. There is a good draining system in place, that's not the problem. It's because of the Israeli "iyeh beseder" mentality (translated to "everything will work out just fine"). End of summer? Rain will start soon? Should we go out and clear the the dust & debris-clogged drains BEFORE the rainy season starts? Nah, "iyeh beseder". This year it won't clog/it won't rain/someone else will do it, why should I bother. (Exchange "I" with "Municipality of Tel Aviv", but same logic applies).
ReplyDeleteClosely linked to the "I'm not a frier" and "what's in it for me" guiding principals, it is a major contributor to the general mediocrity and lack of professionalism that characterize how things are done around here.
Doron... sadly, I think you're exactly right. I learned yesterday that Kiryat Motzkin apparently used to have the nickname "Agam Motzkin" (Motzkin Lake), yet it still floods every winter... because of the debris clogging the drains from the summer.
ReplyDelete