
The following review includes floods that caused loss of life or significant damages exceeding millions of NIS.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, floods have been the most serious natural disasters that have affected the country.
Particularly serious floods occurred in the north of Israel in January 1969 (on a scale expected to occur once every 200 years). The winter of 1991/2 saw record precipitation in central Israel exceeding that recorded over a century and more. The precipitation caused floods in the coastal streams and significant damage totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in the densely-populated coastal regions. Record floods occurred in the river beds in the Negev, causing particularly extensive damage to the road system.
Date |
Event |
Location |
Fatalities |
Financial damage (NIS millions) |
Source |
Further information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 8, 2014 |
Unseasonable floods; floods in Eilat and at Taba Border Crossing |
Judean Desert, dry river beds in Arava and Eilat |
Several million shekels in agricultural damage |
Israel Hayom |
||
Jan. 7, 2013 |
Part of Separation Wall collapses in Bat Hefer, 100 homes evacuated, hundreds of homes left without electricity |
Throughout Israel |
Ynet |
|||
Nov. 18, 2012 |
Local event of exceptional force creating maximum velocity flood; flooding of quarry at entrance to Eilat |
Southern Negev – Nahal Amram and other river beds in area |
||||
Jan. 1, 2010 |
Collapse of bridges, damage to roads and infrastructure |
Ramat Negev |
Ramat Negev Regional Council |
|||
Mar. 2, 2009 |
Flood |
Nahal Tzin |
Ynet |
|||
May 14, 2007 |
Extreme and sudden rain incident leading to severe flooding (occurring once in 50 years), leading to death of four walkers |
Nahal Qumran |
4 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 3, 2006 |
Flood |
Nahal Arava near Eilat |
Natural Disasters in Israel booklet |
Hebrew sources |
||
Oct. 29, 2004 |
Flood |
Dead Sea – Judean Desert and Arava dry stream beds |
Natural Disasters in Israel booklet |
Hebrew sources |
||
Feb. 24-26, 2003 |
Floods |
Throughout Israel |
Ofakim 79-80 |
|||
Feb. 20-21, 2003 |
Floods |
Central and Northern Israel |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
Hebrew source |
||
Jan. 27-29, 2003 |
Floods |
Northern Israel, Nahal Taninim, eastern Golan Heights |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
|||
Jan. 21, 2003 |
Floods |
Tel Aviv and Central Israel |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
Hebrew source |
||
Nov. 5, 2002 |
Floods |
Nahal Harod, Nahal Yosef, Afula – Beit Shemesh highway |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
|||
Oct. 30-31, 2002 |
Flood |
Jerusalem to Eilat |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
|||
Oct. 15, 2002 |
Flood |
Between Mehola and Argaman |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
מקור Hebrew source |
||
Oct. 24, 2000 |
Flooding of homes and roads |
Tel Aviv and central Israel |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
|||
Oct. 14-15, 2000 |
Floods |
Southern Israel |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
מקור Hebrew source |
||
May 1-2, 2001 |
Flooding |
Throughout Israel |
Soil Erosion Research Station |
מקור Hebrew source |
||
Oct. 20, 1997 |
Flooding, 3 people drowned after their car was swept away |
Nahal Kahlon in the Negev, Nachal Yishai in Judean Desert |
4 |
Tens of millions |
Ha’aretz |
|
Mar. 18, 1997 |
Flooding |
Nahal Alexander |
20 |
Ha’aretz |
Nahal Alexander Drainage Project to Prevent Floods |
|
Jan. 24, 1997 |
Damage to infrastructure |
Ra’anana – Kfar Sava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 24, 1997 |
Flooding |
Negev, Judean Desert |
Ha’aretz |
|||
May 18, 1996 |
Flooding |
19 |
Ha’aretz |
Plan to Prevent Floods in Fureidis |
||
Apr. 26, 1996 |
Flooding |
Central Israel, Nahal Ayalon |
1.4 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 26, 1996 |
Flooding |
Nahal Kaneh (tributary of the Yarkon) |
8 |
2.8 |
Ha’aretz |
Claim submitted to Menorah Insurance Co. for floods of winter of 94 |
Feb. 16, 1996 |
Flooding |
Nahal Tamar |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Apr. 27, 1995 |
Declaration of agricultural natural disaster in communities in the Zichron Yaacov area |
Zichron Yaacov, Bat Shlomo, Givat Ada |
10 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 20, 1995 |
Flooding |
Fureidis |
27 |
Ha’aretz |
Damages to approx. 200 farmers |
|
Nov. 14, 1994 |
Flooding |
Negev |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
Damage to Mekorot water company facilities |
|
Nov. 7, 1994 |
Destruction in Golda Park, roads closed |
Nahal Revivim |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 6, 1994 |
Bodies of men from Kfar Rupin found |
Nahal Harod |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 23, 1992 |
Flooding |
Haifa Bay |
40 |
Ha’aretz |
Damage to factories |
|
Mar. 2, 1992 |
Two children swept away in floods |
Nahal Ada |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 2, 1992 |
Flooding |
Throughout Israel |
288 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 2, 1992 |
Damage to factories and collapse of buildings |
Tefen |
Millions of dollars |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 28, 1992 |
Flooding |
Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik |
13.5 |
Ha’aretz |
Damage to apartments |
|
Feb. 27, 1992 |
Flooding of the bridge over the Yavne-Palmachim road |
Throughout Israel, Nahal Sorek |
30 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 26, 1992 |
Soldier killed in flood |
Nahal Yissachar |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 19, 1992 |
Flooding |
Galilee + Golan |
Ha’aretz |
Damage to approx. 30,000 dunams of land |
||
Feb. 14, 1992 |
Flooding |
Beit Shean Valley |
115 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 13, 1992 |
Floods in Fureidis for fourth time |
Nahal Dalia |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 10-11, 1992 |
Floods in Qalansawa for the fourth time, damage to roads |
Throughout Israel, Nahal Alexander |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 5, 1992 |
River beds in south flood |
Southern Israel |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 5, 1992 |
Ayalon Freeway blocked for third time in the season; floods; Road No. 4 closed |
Tel Aviv, Nahal Lachish, Ashdod |
10 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 2, 1992 |
Tributaries of the Kishon in the Zippori area cause flooding to homes 4 times |
Kiryat Ata |
Ha’aretz |
פסק דין Hebrew court ruling |
||
Jan. 21, 1992 |
11 areas declared natural disaster zones |
Shikma basin, Lachish, Ayalon, Yarkon, Palik, Alexander, Hadera, Menashe, Dalia, Maharal |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 13, 1992 |
Collapse of wave break causes flooding of neighborhoods |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 7, 1992 |
Floods in warehouses belonging to Kli Zemer and in Champion Motors lots |
Tel Aviv |
19 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 3, 1992 |
Body of man found on flooded farmland |
Kfar Glickson |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 3, 1992 |
Damage to Ezra neighborhood in Tel Aviv due to floods |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 2, 1992 |
Driver drowns in river bed course |
Nahal Natuf |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 2, 1992 |
Body of man swept away in flood found |
Pardes Hannah |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 29, 1991 |
Occupants of car swept away together with the vehicle |
Nahal Sorek, Yavne |
3 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 15, 1991 |
Ashdod neighborhoods flooded |
Nahal Lachish |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 15, 1991 |
Bridge collapses |
Nahal Sorek, Yavne |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 14, 1991 |
Nahal Beersheva floods its banks, cutting off the Neve Noy neighborhood |
Beersheva |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 12, 1991 |
Floods |
Throughout Israel |
10 |
Ha’aretz |
Damage to agriculture |
|
Dec. 11, 1991 |
Volunteer swept away in flood |
Nahal Me’arot |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 11, 1991 |
Floods in Fureidis |
Nahal Dalia |
0.5 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 4, 1991 |
Floods on Ayalon Freeway |
Ha’aretz |
||||
Dec. 4, 1991 |
2 soldiers swept away in river bed |
Nahal Natuf |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 2, 1991 |
Debris penetrates water drillings |
Gush Dan |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Oct. 91 – Mar. 92 |
Flood season |
Throughout Israel |
Hydrological incidents – winter of 1991/92 |
|||
Mar. 25, 1991 |
Bodies found |
Wadi Aro’er |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 25, 1991 |
Body found |
Mishmar Hanegev (lake) |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 27, 1991 |
Roads closed in Negev |
Negev |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 5, 1990 |
Body of man found close to Nevot intersection; massive floods |
Beit Shean – Afula |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 5, 1991 |
Crops destroyed, homes flooded, and roads swept away |
Jezreel Valley, Gilboa |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 20, 1987 |
Reserve duty soldier missing, body of officer found in Nahal Kidron |
Ein Fashkha, Nahal Kidron |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Oct. 21, 1987 |
Estimate of damages due to floods in Beersheva |
Beersheva |
1.6 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 5, 1987 |
Body of young man swept away in flood in Nov. 1986 identified |
Nahal Shikma |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 20, 1985 |
Floods |
Throughout Israel |
Ha’aretz |
Families evacuated |
||
Jan. 26, 1983 |
Wells damaged, homes collapse |
Jerusalem |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 2, 1983 |
Blizzards cut off communities in north, power cuts throughout the country |
North and throughout Israel |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Apr. 12, 1982 |
Flashflood in Nahal Paran, road blocked |
Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 1, 1981 |
Cloudburst causes floods |
Eilat |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 30, 1980 |
Tourist and 4-year old girl drown in Nahal Zin and Nahal Zohar |
Negev |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 14, 1980 |
Damage to prefabricated buildings |
Bat Yam |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 27, 1980 |
Body of man found in flooded channel |
Wadi Rubin |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 18, 1980 |
Two women swept away in river bed |
Nahal Habsor |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 13, 1980 |
Netanya |
Ha’aretz |
||||
Dec. 20, 1979 |
Jordan Valley highway flooded and covered in debris and large stones |
Jordan Valley |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 10, 1979 |
Floods in Ein Yahav and Massada – Ein Gedi road |
Dead Sea and Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 7, 1979 |
Road collapses, serious disruption to traffic, 50 apartments flooded |
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 31, 1979 |
Bridge collapses in Nahalat Binyamin due to strong flow of water in Nahal Ayalon |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Oct. 23-24, 1979 |
Two Bedouin children drown, Nahal Beersheva floods, roads blocked |
Negev |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 19, 1978 |
Estimate of damages in Sha’ar Hanegev and Nahal Shikma |
Nahal Shikma and Sha’ar Hanegev |
1 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 25, 1977 |
Woman swept away, cars rescued by use of ropes |
Nahal Shikma and Nahal Tamar |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Nov. 28, 1976 |
40 apartments flooded, buildings collapse, power cuts, fields flooded |
Northern Israel, Haifa, Tivon |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Oct. 26, 1976 |
Flooding |
Ha’aretz |
Traffic jams caused loss of thousands of work hours |
|||
May 22, 1976 |
Funds allocated to build bridge over Nahal Grar |
Negev |
3 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 22, 1976 |
Be’eri Bridge collapses, dam on Nahal Ha’arava collapses and is renovated |
Negev and Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 14, 1976 |
River beds in Judean Desert flood, roads swept |
Judean Desert and Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 7, 1976 |
Floods in Tel Aviv |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 28, 1975 |
Body of woman found after she was swept away at Hadodot Bridge |
Jordan River |
1 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 18, 1975 |
Nahal Be’eri bridge flooded |
Nahal Be’eri |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Sept. 30, 1975 |
6 youths swept away and drown in Nahal Dragot |
Dead Sea |
6 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Sept. 30, 1975 |
First winter rains cause floods |
Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Northern Israel |
Ma’ariv |
|||
Feb. 20-24, 1975 |
Damage to infrastructure and agriculture |
Arava and Eilat |
Ben Zvi & Kornitz, The 1975 Floods in Sinai and the Arava |
|||
Dec. 12, 1974 |
Nahal Ayalon floods, 3-story building collapses in Shabazi neighborhood, 2 families evacuated |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 5, 1974 |
4 bridges closed due to flooding |
Negev |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 6, 1974 |
Estimate of damages to the Arava highway and roads in the Negev |
Negev and Arava |
24 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 4, 1974 |
Allenby Bridge flooded |
Jordan River |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 21, 1974 |
Arava highway closed due to flooding of Nahal Paran |
Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 21, 1974 |
Family rescued from Nahal Zohar |
Jordan Valley |
5 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 15, 1974 |
Fierce rain, flooding, and disruption to traffic |
Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 11, 1973 |
Roads damaged and closed |
Eilat |
Hundreds of thousands (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 31, 1972 |
Derekh Hashalom flooded (a recurrent phenomenon) |
Nahal Ayalon |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 22, 1972 |
River beds impassable |
Ha’aretz |
||||
Feb. 7, 1972 |
Floods in Jerusalem, Gethsemane Church flooded |
Jerusalem |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 26, 1972 |
Car swept away |
Nahal Hever |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 18, 1972 |
50 apartments flooded |
Jerusalem |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 30, 1971 |
Dozens of cars swept away and rescued |
Sdom |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 9, 1971 |
Floods and disruption to traffic |
Throughout Israel |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 19, 1971 |
Homes flooded, Jericho – Ein Gedi road blocked |
Jerusalem |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Apr. 18, 1971 |
7,000 dunams of land flooded in the reclaimed area |
Hula Valley |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Apr. 18, 1971 |
Water facility flooded and put out of use |
Kibbutz Masada |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Apr. 14, 1971 |
Homes flooded, roads cut off, Allenby Bridge flooded |
Jerusalem, Jordan River |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 17, 1971 |
Severe flooding |
Kfar Sava, Ra’anana, Herzliya |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 8, 1970 |
Floods in Nahal Paran and Nahal Tzofar, road to Eilat cut off, cars trapped between the two streams, roads swept away |
Eilat and Arava |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 11, 1969 |
Government allocates funds for repair of damaged drainage channels |
2 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 27, 1969 |
Allenby Bridge closed due to mud |
Jordan Valley |
0.4 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 20, 1969 |
Damage since January at Argaman Beach |
Netanya |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 7, 1969 |
40,000 dunams of the reclaimed area in the Hula flooded |
Throughout Israel |
10 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 3, 1969 |
Damage to drainage system |
Throughout Israel |
1.5 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 3, 1969 |
8,500 dunams of farmland flooded |
Throughout Israel |
Hundreds of thousands of IL |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 3, 1969 |
Damage to farms in Na’aman regional council |
Na’aman regional council |
4 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 30, 1969 |
Snow causes collapse of supporting wall in Abu Tor |
Jerusalem |
2 |
Ha’aretz |
||
Jan. 30, 1969 |
40 houses collapse |
Judea and Samaria |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 30, 1969 |
Floods in communities around the Sea of Galilee |
Sea of Galilee |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 26, 1969 |
Floods in Herzliya Pituach and Kishon, homes evacuated |
Herzliya, Kishon |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 28, 1969 |
Kinneret overflows, Allenby Bridge flooded and closed |
Jordan Valley |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 26, 1969 |
Synagogue in Moshav Tohelet collapses |
Lod |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 24, 1969 |
8,000 chicks drown, 250 beehives swept away, 1,100 mm. of rain in Yagur |
Ein Hamifratz, Yagur |
Hundreds of thousands of IL |
Ha’aretz |
IDF Engineering Corps installs walkway for pedestrians |
|
Jan. 19-23, 1969 |
Wadi Shomriya floods, blocking the Haifa-Nazareth highway, Kishon floods, flooding in homes and factories in Yagur and Eilat, Sea of Galilee rises to 208.3 m. |
Western Galilee, Haifa, Nazareth, Yagur, Eilat |
Ofakim 1 |
|||
Jan. 13-14, 1969 |
Peak flows in the Northern Jordan river and northern Israel rivers. Flooding in Nahal Ayalon and Ezra neighborhood of Tel Aviv, river beds flood |
Tel Aviv, Western Galilee |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 3, 1969 |
80 meter section of the Haifa-Nahariya railroad swept away, floods |
Haifa-Nahariya, Bustan Hagalil |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 29, 1968 |
Strong flow in Galilee streams, Allenby Bridge flooded and closed for three weeks |
Nahal Beit Ha’emek, Nahal Kaziv, Nahal Ga’aton |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 16, 1968 |
Jerusalem Blvd. in Jaffa flooded |
Jaffa |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 10, 1968 |
Southern Israel cut off, Erez road closed, flooding in Tel Aviv |
Southern Israel, Tel Aviv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Dec. 8, 1968 |
Unusually heavy rains (337/365 mm) |
Akko |
Ha’aretz |
|||
May 27, 1968 |
Flooding |
Eilat |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 21-22, 1968 |
Bridge leading to Moshav Avadon flooded, damage to infrastructures |
Hula, Beit Hillel, Nahal Kaziv |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 24, 1967 |
Land flooded due to rising level of eastern channel of the Jordan River |
Holata, Shamir, Hula Valley settlements |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Feb. 2, 1967 |
Drainage channel constructed after flooding occurs 3 times |
Beit Shikma, Geah, Talme Yaffe |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 29, 1967 |
Floods due to strong flow in Nahal Shikma |
Beit Shikma, Geah, Talme Yaffe |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 24, 1967 |
Bloods in Beit Shikma, communities cut off |
Geah, Talmei Yaffe |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 19, 1967 |
Floods and communities cut off, Nahal Ayalon overflows |
Beit Shikma, Geah, Talmei Yaffe, Nahal Ayalon |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 5, 1967 |
Truck carrying soldiers swept away in Nahal Shikma |
Nahal Shikma |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Nov. 14, 1966 |
Cloudburst destroys 250 dunams of vegetables, river beds blocked, fields flooded due to forestry works by the JNF |
Menachemya |
0.5 (IL) |
Ha’aretz |
||
Mar. 11, 1966 |
Flooding |
Between Eilat and Yotvata |
Natural Disasters in Israel booklet |
|||
Nov. 24, 1964 |
Damage to crops, buildings, and to Jaffa Port |
North, Galilee, Ohalo, Akko, Central Israel |
0.36 IL |
Ha’aretz |
||
July 13, 1964 |
Damage to water facilities due to rising level of Sea of Galilee, part of the Tzemach-Ma’agan road collapses |
Southern Sea of Galilee |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 22, 1964 |
4,000 dunams of farmland flooded for third time |
Hula Valley |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Mar. 8, 1964 |
80,000 tons of citrus fruit lost |
Coastal plain |
3.2 IL |
Ha’aretz |
||
Dec. 10, 1963 |
Land flooded, damage to agriculture, Ayalon Bridge flooded |
Lachish area, Central Israel |
Ha’aretz |
|||
Jan. 28,1963 |
Floods in Hula Valley due to topographical changes following the reclamation project |
Hula Valley |
0.5 IL |
Ha’aretz |
||
Feb. 7, 1957 |
10,000 dunams of farmland flooded, 2,500 dunams of wheat and hundreds of dunams of vegetables damaged |
Hula, Jordan Valley |
Ha’aretz |