Thousands of sukkahs destroyed as violent storm hits Israel

A rare violent summer storm hit Israel over the first day of Sukkot leaving thousands without power and destroying thousands of sukkahs.

Thousands of people were left without power for hours during the first day of the festival of Sukkot on Sunday night and Monday. High winds brought down power lines in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak, causing power outages throughout central Israel. Power failures were also reported in some parts of northern Israel, as fallen trees due to strong winds hit electrical wires.

Most power outages extended from a few minutes to about an hour, but in some places the lights

were off for several hours. Israel Electric Company emergency crews worked to ensure that hospitals and defense facilities were able to get power restored first.

 IEC warned residents of the affected neighborhoods not to touch the wires that had fallen to the ground. As many as 9,000 homes were without power much of Monday.

Weather in Israel was unusual for the first day of Sukkot, with cloudy skies and extreme moisture conditions in many parts of the country, with rain falling in the north and center of the country.

The forecast for Tuesday is possible rain, falling temperatures and humidity gradually reduced over the next few days.