Haifa firefighters rushed to the Halutzei Hata’asiya Street underpass on Saturday night to rescue a man trapped in his car, which had been submerged underwater after a little more than half an inch of rain fell on the city.
The underpass is known for flooding during heavy rains and took the life of a driver in similar circumstances two years ago.
Firefighters attached a safety rope and swam to the trapped driver to pull him from his car and help him onto the roof. The firefighter then waited until additional rescuers arrived in a lifeboat to take them to safety.
Due to regular flooding in the underpass, the roadway was equipped with a sensor designed to close the road when water levels become too dangerous; however, the system failed to activate.
Also on Saturday, some parts of Route 90 near the Dead Sea were closed by authorities for several hours due to fears of flash floods from nearby streams.
