Lebanon Aero Club destroyed by devastating winter storms

Heavy rain and strong winds seriously damaged the four light aircraft with newsagency photographs showing a Cessna 172 Skyhawk flipped over   while another had been rammed into a power pylon.

For years the Aero Club has been the sole source of private training and aviation in the country.

Heavy rains flooded the streets in Beirut and snow forced some road closures in remote mountain towns. A woman died on Saturday night when an uprooted tree fell on her car in the northern port city of Tripoli, according to the Associated Press.

In Jordan, the Weather Department urged citizens to avoid valleys because of the threat of flash floods.

Police said dust-laden winds reaching up to 55 miles (90 kilometers) per hour obscured road visibility and forced the closure of major highways in the eastern desert linking Jordan with neighboring Iraq and southern roads leading to the ancient city of Petra.

Amman airport reported up to two-hour delays in domestic and international flights as a result of the dust storm.

The storm, which hit Lebanon late Friday with winds of up to 60 miles (100 kilometres) per hour.   One flight from Bahrain was diverted to Syria according to the Airport authority.

However, the storm also battered Syria's coast, and forced the closure of the Mediterranean sea port of Tartous, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. SANA said waves reached a height of up to 23 feet (7 metres),

Ironically, the storm comes after a severe drought in Lebanon during which Muslims and Christians held special prayers for rain.