|
|
|
 |
|
“WHEN ALL THE
PEOPLE WITNESSED THE THUNDER AND LIGHTNING,
THE SOUND OF THE SHOFAR, AND THE MOUNTAIN SMOKING,
THEY WERE AFRAID AND TREMBLED AND STOOD AT A DISTANCE"
EXODUS 20
|
|
- Have you ever been
caught in a flash flood in the Judean wilderness?
Mary Pickens, Clarksdale, Mississippi
|
| YES! The most
memorable to date was in April 2006.
Most of the winter rain fell during a 48 hour period. In the midst of it all, with
our destination the Dead Sea south of Masada, my
group and I were trapped for four hours at Qumran.
Flash floods closed the road to the north
and to the
south. We couldn’t even get to Qalya, the
kibbutz next to Qumran, for the road was strewn by
rocks, carried along by the surging water. The
upside was that we witnessed a waterfall crashing
over the Judean cliffs where the Dead Sea Scrolls
were found. At the crack of thunder, I had a sense of
what it must have been like to witness the
magnificence of God’s glory at the foot of Mount
Sinai. |
| |
|
 |
|
Photo:
Courtesy of David Schlaegel |
|
Flash flood at Qumran, April 2006 |
| |
| Here’s what my tour
leader, Kevin Saunders from Chandler, Arizona, wrote
about our experience, |
| |
“In my pre-trip orientation, I foolishly
predicted perfect weather for our trip. I
told the assembled travelers that by the time we
arrive in Israel the spring rains will have ended
and we would enjoy sunshine every day. I
believed my own press and did not pack any rain
gear myself and that turned out to be a mistake of
nearly Biblical proportions!
Early in the morning on the day we were to depart
from Jerusalem the heavens opened and a freak
thunderstorm rolled through the city. Thunder,
lightening, and rain, rain, rain came pouring out
of the sky. We boarded our brand new
Mercedes motor coach and headed for what we hoped
would be dry climates in the Jordan rift valley,
the lowest place on earth, a locale where a mere
one to two inches of rain fall annually."
|
|
 |
|
Photo:
Courtesy of Sister Clare Sweeney |
|
Flash flood in the Judean
Wilderness |
| |
|
 |
|
Photo:
Courtesy of Susan Vandergrift |
|
Washed-out road by Qumran |
| |
"As we traveled down toward Jericho the rain
showers let up, but the run-off from the heights
was surging through and beyond the banks of
normally dry river beds on either side of the
road. As we arrived in the Jericho area, and
made our turn south toward the Dead Sea, our
progress was stopped just at the entrance to the
ancient site of Qumran, famous as the site where
the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We
learned that the road south had washed away in the
run-off from the hills above.
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
With that thought in mind, we pulled into Qumran
and made an unscheduled visit to the site and were
treated to an amazing sight: a waterfall cascading
down and off the cliffs some 2,000 feet above the
site. As the water raged and poured down in
a series of seven waterfalls, we knew why the road
to the Dead Sea was washed away."
|
|
 |
|
Photo:
Courtesy of David Schlaegel |
|
Extraordinary waterfall opposite
Qumran |
| |
"After a couple of hours of waiting for the
rising tide to dissipate and a lovely impromptu
wine tasting session in the Qumran gift shop, we
boarded the bus and made our way back. We
were forced to take the long way back through
Jerusalem and then south through the coastal
plain, past the site where David fought Goliath
and then through the southern city of Beersheba.
It was a wonderful trip as Biblical history could
be seen and imagined all along the way."
|
| |
| Flash
bulletin May 2025: Flash floods cause
widespread havoc at En Gedi |
| |
| On May 4th
there was an intense rainstorm at En Gedi
with 35 mm or 1.4 inches of rain falling
within a very short amount of time. It
was an event that happens once every 100 or
200 years according to the Israel Nature and
Parks Authority. Bridges, steps,
trails and signage were destroyed; the
ancient fifth century synagogue was flooded
and rare vegetation was damaged. |
| |
| Into the
Arugot riverbed, 17.6 mm of rain fell in
just five minutes! The
resulting flash flood collapsed hiking
trails, damaged footbridges and hand rails
and washed away access roads. Until
now (September 2025) the En Gedi Preserve is
closed as park rangers attempt to restore,
repair and conserve. |
| |
| It's sad
about the devastation, but I bet the
ibex are having a
picnic. Stay tuned.... |
| |
|
Copyright 2006, 2025 by Gila Yudkin. Permission
needed for any reuse. |
| |
|
Most popular
articles this month and
2025 UPDATES on what's new |
| |
| David found
refuge in the
stronghold of En Gedi
hidden by the "rocks of the ibex."
I wonder whether he and his band of outlaws
(or men of valor as the bible calls them)
ever experienced a flash flood! |
| |
| If you're
interested in "who's who" of the Dead Sea
Scrolls, see "The
Dead Sea Scrolls from A to Z". |
| |
| Ask Gila how
flashfloods helped the
defenders of Masada. |
| |
|
Read about "Gila on the
Mike" or what
Tour Leaders say about
Gila. |
|
|
|
GILA
YUDKIN
•
TCHERNIKOVSKI
64A
•
JERUSALEM
•
ISRAEL
gila@itsgila.com
HOME
•
BOOK
GILA
•
TIPS
FOR TOURS •
ABOUT GILA
|
|
