A Shift from Rome - The January Storm on the Corniche

We were all ready to go back to work on January 7th when a storm decided to come in. School was cancelled for 3 days. It was cold here by Lebanese standards but I can tell you, the thunder and lightning as well as the torrential rain can be impressive here. Since the drainage in Beirut is not like Seattle, when storms hit, the many tunnels in the city tend to really flood thus one of the reasons for school being cancelled.  While the storm was starting to hit, Tim and I decided to go see what was going on at the Corniche. We arrived to major traffic jams. People were just double parking to take a look. This included buses. Everyone was taking pictures and smiling and impressed. Here are some pictures from that early evening.

This was the first area we saw.  Can you imagine what the waves looked like inside the building?

The waves would completely roll over the dock.

As you can see, the water would just crash up the wall.

A little further down. The radio tower is on the AUB beach which was pretty much completely covered with water.

This little garbage can on a cement block base was not knocked over not by people but by the waves.

These are waves I would expect to see along the Washington State coastline, not along the Corniche in Beirut

As we walked further, the waves were more impressive. Airplanes were flying around in circles above us because it was difficult to land at the airport.

The water on the Corniche was from the waves. It was not raining at this point at all. 

If you walked through where it was wet you were taking a risk. Some of these people choose poorly.

This picture and the next one were Tim's favorites to take. Remarkably, the man did not get wet!

On the way home we took a picture of the minaret of our neighborhood Mosque right by the water.

The next day, I went for an early walk (since school was cancelled....Again!) and ended up with some nice pictures as well. Some of these I've posted on facebook already but for those who don't have facebook here they are again.

This is a small marina on the Corniche. All of the boats were taken out of the water.

I love this picture. The Lebanese flag is still flying strong. I saw it as a symbol of there determination to keep their country at peace with respect and dignity.

The guy sitting in front of me when I took this got soaked by the last wave.