The flooding in the streets of Haifa imprisons residents in their homes

(haipo) - A serious winter system hit Haifa in the last few days, and in a short time many streets in the city were flooded. The phenomenon is well known to Haifa residents, since it repeats itself every year, despite repeated promises from the municipality, that it will invest resources in improving the drainage systems and in their ongoing maintenance.

For example, Customs Street in Haifa, where about ten families live, became a sort of "deserted island", entirely surrounded by water, and the frustrated residents found themselves trapped in their homes, with the height of the water blocking any possibility of exiting without risk. Desperate and helpless, they were forced to accept the verdict and stay at home.

The blessed rains that hit us recently are expected to last until December 31, according to the forecasts, but have already disrupted the lives of quite a few Haifa residents. As mentioned above, the residents of Customs Street, who experienced this quite to the extreme, first hand. Jerry Div, a Haifa resident whose family members live on the street, tells Lahi Fe about his elderly parents who live on the street, who suffer from complex health problems and are helped by foreign nannies, who found themselves imprisoned in their home.

"Last Friday, a physical therapist came to treat my father, but he was unable to enter the house, because the water blocked the entrance. Parked vehicles have also been repeatedly damaged over the years. Every winter my car is disabled, and I have to repair it at my own expense because of the water damage that penetrates the system," says Div.

"This is not a new phenomenon," he repeated and emphasizes, "I remember it since I was a little boy. Mayors have changed, but the problem remains. Sometimes the municipality sends a pump to drain the water, but it is not enough and certainly does not solve the problem. Unacceptable In the opinion that this is what happens in 2024."

According to him, the situation not only harms the quality of life of the residents, but poses a real danger. "How is it possible that in 2024, let alone 2025, we are still dealing with exactly the same problems as in the past? We demand an immediate solution!"

The municipality claims over the years that regular maintenance operations are carried out in the drainage systems, including canal cleaning which is carried out every winter. However, the recurring floods indicate that these actions are not enough. The residents of Customs Street do experience the problem in a relatively extreme way, but they are certainly not the only ones. The expectation of the residents is that the municipality will bring to their doorstep a comprehensive and deep solution, which will prevent the recurrence of the problem and save them from the constant and well-known sadness that sets in, like clockwork, with the arrival of winter.

The reality on Customs Street is a serious warning sign regarding the urban infrastructures and their ability to handle extreme winter weather. The residents, who are mainly elderly families and residents who are unable to move, need an urgent and comprehensive response. The time has come for the municipality, together with the relevant authorities, to act to provide a real solution that will restore the sense of security and comfort to the residents of Haifa.

The Haifa Municipality provided a response: "Haifa Municipality has been prepared as usual for the winter by, among other things, cleaning openings and drainage canals along tens of kilometers and checking the integrity of the pumping systems and sensors in the underground passages. In the meantime, the municipality continues to improve the municipal drainage systems throughout the city.

During the last day, record amounts of rain fell throughout the country, with the record recorded in Haifa, where more than 140 mm of rain fell in one day, which is about 20% of the annual amount of rain, however, unlike the many floods recorded throughout the region and on the coastal plain, the roads in Haifa remained open to vehicle traffic thanks to the preparations the early of the municipality.

On Customs Street there are two buildings at a lower level than the street and the port adjacent to it. This fact does not allow the free flow of the water towards the port and therefore the municipality was equipped with a diesel pump designed to flow the excess water from the street to the port area, but the drainage pipe in the port was unable to overcome the abnormal amounts of water that fell as mentioned in the area. The Municipality of Haifa is preparing for a total upgrade of the drainage system in place as part of the urban sea front project in a way that will lead to a fundamental solution to the problem.

It should be noted that despite the increased preparation and the actions taken by the municipality, the topographical structure of Haifa, along with the extreme events that are becoming more frequent, it is not possible to prevent flooding for short periods of time in cases where a large amount of precipitation falls in a short time - as is the case throughout the country and the world."