Rain

Let’s talk about the weather. I have no other topic today.

Today was a gorgeous day, but yesterday was gorgeous-er, because we had rain. We do not get a whole lot of rain in Beirut, and if we get it, it is all concentrated in a two month period, so I (being Dutch) get a little rain-craved now and then. When I am in Holland, and it rains all the time, I nag to no extent, and then when I am back in Beirut, I almost welcome every little drop. I’m glad to report that other Dutch in Lebanon feel the same way.
Rain showers here are much more intensive than in Holland (as are most other things), and so are the thunderstorms. Yesterday we had a very intensive one in the morning. About the time I got to work, it was all over.

When I first got to Beirut, and the sewer systems had not been maintained for some 10 years or so, a rain shower would create torrents on the roads. It would be impossible to cross little streets, unless you were willing to wade through the water flow up to your ankles. The Corniche would be flooded up to your hub caps, and everybody would get stranded in; hundreds of cars standing alone, fogged up windows, surrounded by water.

It’s gotten better, but apparently not good enough. The Minister of Public Works says he’ll resign over this one. I guess I should consider myself lucky living on a hill in this town. Those in the lower parts did not fare so well.

Is that a TV floating around?
Lebanese men tried to salvage some of their belongings from their flooded home after heavy rain hit the capital, Beirut, Wednesday.
(Ahmad Omar/Associated Press, source)