Nini Asur (Eli Ashkenazi)
Omar, a 17-year-old resident of Nativot, got caught in a flood on her way back from Eilat - when, according to her, there were no police checkpoints on the way.
"All the way there was nothing that made us suspect that we would find a huge storm like this," she said in an interview on 103FM.
Since the incident that happened three days ago, she does not sleep at night and wakes up from nightmares.
"The nights are not easy at all - we fall asleep and wake up from nightmares where we are there, suffocating from water. From the moment the water came in until they rescued us, four hours passed. I was in the car alone, surrounded by mud and I didn't see anything. There were moments when the water reached my neck. My girlfriends managed to go up to the roof and I didn't have time to react. It was the fear of God. A nightmare."
Omar and her friends ran into the flood when they were standing in traffic on the way out of Eilat.
"On Monday at five o'clock in the evening we left for our house, we passed the first flood which was relatively high, which we passed successfully", she repeated.
"We moved forward, we stood in the traffic jam, we realized that the traffic jam was very long. We realized that we saw a very large flood in front of us that we would not be able to cross. We called our parents, said that we were going back for a few nights in Eilat, we made a U-turn, and when we got to the flood that we were in for the first time, it probably got stronger or became more difficult Because we couldn't pass it anymore. I didn't even have time to react, when I pressed the gas, there was no more gas. Water started getting into the car in crazy amounts. My friends thought a little more than I did, they got on the roof, I unfortunately didn't have time to get on the roof. It was short in the car." .
Floods in Nahal Abdat in the Negev (Photo: Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Lior Schweimer)
As soon as the girls realized that Omar was locked in the car - they called the police.
"It was tough to get them because the water had already reached about the middle of the car, and I tried not to move because every little move I make, the car continues to float on the water," Omar said.
"We called the police and tried to talk to them. We thought we wouldn't get out of this and our loved ones. I wrote to all my friends and my parents that I love them and I probably won't get out of this. We were sure we wouldn't get out of this. It was so bad at this level."
However, four hours later a rescue helicopter arrived.
"I spoke with an amazing representative from the fire department who calmed me down all this time, tried to help me and listen to me," Omar said.
"And then I see the helicopter in front of me. Even though I saw the helicopter, I was very afraid that they would just take the girls from the roof and not notice that I was inside. Only after half an hour, when the helicopter was already there, they took us out. They opened my door for me, they were on The roof. I also couldn't open the door because of the current and the drift. Its power was so powerful that I can't explain in words. They opened the door for me, I climbed in and literally pulled me out of the vehicle."
news
News in Israel
Events in Israel
Tags
floods
Eilat
police