(BEIRUT) — A dense and deadly sandstorm sweeping through the Middle East has engulfed Lebanon this week, prompting government closures and increased staffing at local hospitals after at least 750 sandstorm-related admissions were reported.
At least five people are reported dead since the storm started early Tuesday, according to media reports, which cite “suffocation” as the major cause.
Public Health Minister Wael Abu Faour instructed all hospitals to receive patients suffering from suffocation at the ministry’s expense, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.
Mounin Hamzeh, secretary general of Lebanon’s governmental National Council for Scientific Research, said his office is closely tracking the storm.
“(Satellite pictures) clearly show that the sandstorm came from northern Iraq in the direction of central and northern Lebanon, north and east Syria, and southern Turkey,” Hamzeh said.
The unseasonable and unprecedented storm reduced visibility on local roads and caused several accidents, according to Lebanon’s Traffic Management Center.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced the closure of municipalities and government buildings on Wednesday due to visibility conditions. Education Minister Elias Bou Saab also ordered all schools to close on Wednesday.
“It usually happens twice or even three times a year in Lebanon but during spring, March and April, and the unusual thing today is the density of the storm,” Hamzeh said, according to an AFP report.
Protesters from the group You Stink were scheduled to rally in downtown Beirut on Wednesday, but organizers said the bad weather could prevent some people from taking to the streets.
“This movement doesn’t depend on the weather…or one day,” said Lucien Bourjeili, a organizer from You Stink, in comments published by the Associated Press.