Roundup: Sandstorm continues to hit Mideast with ports closed, flights grounded

A sandstorm continues to blow hard in parts of the Middle East on Wednesday, where authorities have remained sea ports closed and briefly grounded flights.

In Egypt, the dusty wind has caused serious lack of sight along the desert roads. In Cairo, skies turned yellow while the sun has almost been blotted out, yet people's daily actions in the capital go on as usual.

The storm has also raised wave levels in both the Red and Mediterranean seas, and has thus halted the marine activities.

Weather forecasters expect that the awful weather would go on storming most of the country throughout the day, with temperatures going down and raindrops in the coastal cities.

On Tuesday, because of the sandstorm, fishermen had to stay put, and a total of six ports have been closed. Electricity went out in some 400 villages.

As many as six air flghts, including international and local ones, were told to change their routes, and to land in Sharm El-Sheihk international airport instead of Cairo airport, which were shut down briefly.

In the coastal city of Alexandria, the wind broke a window, which accidentally fell on the neck of a child, who died later.

Israel has also been hit by the developing sandstorm. The country temporarily shut down two airports and suspended all domestic flights Wednesday morning as the sandstorm hit the country, the Israel Airport Authority said in a statement.

Flights to and from the Red Sea resort city of Eilat were grounded, and later one Eilat's airpot and a small airport in Tel Aviv were shut down, according to the Airport authority. The two airports serve mainly domestic flights.

The sky over Jerusalem and other major cities turned yellow, causing limited visibility. However, the flights at Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, were not affected by the storm.

Descended over the country late on Tuesday, the dust storm also disrupted traffic and raised air pollution to levels 50 times higher than usual.

A spokesperson for Israel's Meteorological Service said the sandstorm carries dust from North Africa and is moving through parts of the Middle East.

Lebanon is another victim. In Beirut, the storm brought heavy winds, rain and snow to the mountains. According to weather forecasters in Lebanon, the speed of the wind reached 100 km per hour (60 mph). Enditem