The damages of the heavy rains of two nights ago are still being felt. A military helicopter had to be called in this morning to rescue a driver who attempted to cross the flooded Tze\'elim Brook. The 35-year-old man from Ofakim attempted to cross the Tze\'elim Bridge, despite the ban on doing so, and was swept away by the gushing waters. He was rescued from the roof of his car some time afterwards. Part of the Dead Sea highway, from Ein Gedi and northwards, is still closed due to the collapse of the Arugot Overpass. A very temporary detour has already been arranged, but the damage to the critical highway is expected to result in major damage to tourism and other industries in the area.
The local Tamar Council\'s Chief Engineer Avi Rotem told Arutz-7 today, \"We have basically returned to the days before the Six-Day War, when travel from this area to Jerusalem had to go all the way around to the west, north, and east through Arad [instead of almost due north]... It will take over a year to rebuild the bridge.\"