Billboard collapsed in Netanya due to storm
Billboard collapsed in Netanya due to stormChen Leopold/Flash 90

As Jerusalem goes into lockdown and Israel comes in for the brunt of a major snowstorm on Wednesday, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) has started issuing a damage report - despite the massive preparations, 17,000 homes are without electricity.

The houses affected are located in cities throughout the country, as the storm expected to last throughout the week continues to rage sparing no part of Israel.

IEC announced that there are power outages in Netanya, Petah Tikva, the Sharon coastal region, Afula, Jerusalem and on several roads in the Tel Aviv area. The town of Shiloh in Samaria has also lost power.

According to the IEC announcement, the average time it is taking to repair the outages stands at roughly two hours, and IEC crews are dispersed around the country taking care of the electric losses.

All roads leading to Jerusalem, Tzfat and the Golan Heights have already been closed.

Other roads that have been closed include parts of Highway 98, Highway 87, Highway 91, Highway 978, Highway 99, the road to Beit Jan in the Golan Heights, Highway 864 and Highway 9779.

Major damage has already been reported from the storm as well, after a large lighting stand and billboard collapsed on Netanya's Hagavish Street. Police and IEC workers were called to the site to deal with the damage - no injuries were reported.