Heavy clouds hover over Beirut as waves crash on the seawall of the corniche, in Dbayeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering up to 100 km/h (62 miles/h). (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy clouds hover over Beirut as waves crash on the seawall of the corniche, in Dbayeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering up to 100 km/h (62 miles/h). (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy clouds hover over Beirut as waves crash on the seawall of the corniche, in Dbayeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering up to 100 km/h (62 miles/h). (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Heavy clouds hover over Beirut as waves crash on the seawall of the corniche, in Dbayeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering up to 100 km/

MENA

Beirut's infrastructure ill-equipped to face Storm Joyce

The storm also made its way to Damascus and Istanbul, blanketing both cities in unprecedented levels of snow

The National

February 18, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Waves smashed against Beirut’s abandoned corniche through Wednesday night, as Storm Joyce pummeled the country.

The storm, having made land in Lebanon late on Tuesday gathered steam on Wednesday, ripping awnings from buildings in Beirut and delivering several inches of snow to the country’s mountains.

As the front tore across a Beirut, a city already frozen by a corona-virus lockdown, the Meteorological department at Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport recorded wind spends of more than 70 kilometers per hour, as well as rising sea levels as the storm initially made land on Tuesday.

Through Wednesday, winds increased further to 85 kilometers per hour, and thunderstorms rumbled throughout the evening.

Thursday was predicated to be the coldest day of the year as the cold snap bites, bringing further snow to areas of lower altitude.

The country has had a notably dry start to the year, meteorologists warned, with temperatures expected to begin rising again from Friday.

The country’s infrastructure is ill-prepared for such weather, poor drainage systems leave main roads open to flooding, whilst hundreds of uncomplete construction projects, their cranes towering above Beirut are vulnerable to the high winds.

Local authorities warned people against driving, particularly in the mountains where ice has begun to form on the roads.

There were also concerns for the more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees hosted by Lebanon, with many of them confined to tents in refugee camps offering little protection from the elements.

The front also delivered a dusting of snow to Damascus, just days after it passed over Istanbul, leaving the Turkish city blanketed in unprecedented levels of snow.

A young Syrian girl runs on a snow-covered street in the Jabal Al Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP
A young Syrian girl runs on a snow-covered street in the Jabal Al Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP
A man pushes a large snowball in front of the Blue Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. An overnight cold snap brought heavy snowfall to Istanbul in the early morning, causing traffic disruptions. Getty Images
A man pushes a large snowball in front of the Blue Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. An overnight cold snap brought heavy snowfall to Istanbul in the early morning, causing traffic disruptions. Getty Images
A woman takes a photo in the snow at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on February 17, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel, as wintery weather hits the country. Getty Images
A woman takes a photo in the snow at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on February 17, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel, as wintery weather hits the country. Getty Images
A Syrian man rides a motorcycle among groves covered with snow in the Jabal al-Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP
A Syrian man rides a motorcycle among groves covered with snow in the Jabal al-Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP
People play by the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary during a snowy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, on February 18, 2021. Reuters
People play by the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary during a snowy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, on February 18, 2021. Reuters
An ultra-orthodox man and his sons build a snowman in Sacher Park in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 February 2021. EPA
An ultra-orthodox man and his sons build a snowman in Sacher Park in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 February 2021. EPA
Israeli youths throw snowballs on cars in a main street in north Jerusalem neighbourhood, on February 17, 2021. EPA
Israeli youths throw snowballs on cars in a main street in north Jerusalem neighbourhood, on February 17, 2021. EPA
A man looks on as snows falls in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, February 17, 2021. Reuters
A man looks on as snows falls in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, February 17, 2021. Reuters
Aysegul Cepoglu, rear, and Ahmet Efe Isik slide down the hill at snow-blanketed Seymenler Park, in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. AP Photo
Aysegul Cepoglu, rear, and Ahmet Efe Isik slide down the hill at snow-blanketed Seymenler Park, in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. AP Photo
Children play in the snow in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images
Children play in the snow in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images
While you're here
Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

Company profile

Name: Thndr

Started: October 2020

Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: FinTech

Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000

Funding stage: series A; $20 million

Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC,  Rabacap and MSA Capital

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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