Roundup: Fatalities caused, thousands hospitalized as sandstorm hits Mideast

Six people died in Syria and Lebaon as severe sandstorm swept through Mideast region Tuesday, in additon to millions suffered with respiratory problems, local media reported.

Tens of thousands of Syrians have suffered from asphyxiation and respiratory problems in Syria since the sandstorm hit the country, according to the state news agency SANA on Tuesday.

The sandstorm hit Syria since Sunday and killed three people in the central province of Hama Tuesday, while causing asphyxiation and breathing problems, including allergies to thousands of people in Hama and beyond, said SANA.

The sandstorm is partly due to a low-pressure system covering the entire region and winds blowing sand from the east, SANA said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, placed the death toll from the sandstorm at six from Hama, the eastern province of Deir al-Zour as well as the southern province of Daraa.

The Health Department stressed that hospitals are ready to respond to any emergency, including providing related drugs and bronchodilators as well as face masks to alleviate those allergic to sandstorms.

The Syrian Meteorology Directorate said that the current sandstorm represents a "rare phenomenon" at this time of year, and that the storm will gradually start declining as of Tuesday evening, but will continue throughout the weekend, due to lack of rain.

The sandstorm has forced the Syrian army to suspend its operations in the al-Ghab Plains region in Hama. It also prevented warplanes and helicopters from carrying out airstrikes on rebel posts in the Hama countryside and the northwestern province of Idlib.

Meanwhile, in Lebaon three people died and more than 750 others were hospitalized with breathing problems due to the unprecedented sand storm that is engulfing Lebanon Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry.

"Three individuals died and almost 750 people were rushed to hospitals as an unseasonal sandstorm hit Lebanon, covering the country, including Beirut, with a blanket of yellow dust", the Health ministry said in a statement.

"The number of cases of choking and shortness of breath caused by the sandstorm has risen to 750," the ministry said. The storm reached Beirut on Tuesday, after it engulfed the Bekaa region and north of the country.

The ministry also said that it has gone on alert, urging those suffering from respiratory and heart problems to stay indoors.

The Meteorological Department at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport expected the sandstorm to last a few days.

While in Israel, the authorities issued public health warnings on Tuesday calling on people to stay indoors as much as possible due to a heavy sandstorm which increased pollution rates substantially throughout the country.

Israelis woke up to see a yellow-toned skies as the sandstorm, originating in the area of Iraq, reached Israel on Tuesday, along with neighboring countries Syria and Lebanon.

The Environmental Protection Ministry issued a warning, calling on the elderly, young, pregnant women and people of all ages who suffer from respiratory problems to stay indoors, as especially high rates of pollution were measured across the country.

The ministry also called on schools nationwide to keep children indoors as much as possible, as the high dust concentration in the air may cause health hazards.

No injuries were reported by the Israeli medical services, except for several dozen asthma patients who were treated at the Ziv Medical Center in the northern town of Safed.

Furthermore, due to bad visibility conditions, internal flights between Eilat in southern Israel and Tel Aviv have been canceled for the remainder of the day.

The sandstorm is unusual and caught weathermen in Israel off-guard, as these storms usually take place in the winter and originate from Africa, the meteo-tech meteorological service explained.

The storm is expected to disperse by Tuesday evening, whereas the heatwave Israel is experiencing since Monday is expected to remain in place until the weekend. Enditem