Written by Lamia Chedid

Translated by Lynn Waked

NNA - As the winter season approaches, fears of roads blockage emerge in the villages of Rasenhash and Hamat, located in Batroun.

Batroun outskirts' villages have been suffering the consequences of the winter season storms' landslides and rock fall, due to the bad soil quality and weak cohesion of the regions' land there.

This year, the residents of said regions voiced a warning cry against the risk of future rock collapse incidents, similar to those that happened ten months ago, on Rasenhach road in Batroun, causing by so the isolation of ten villages: Kalbata, Kfarhata, Btaaboura, Kaftoun and El Majdel.

Citizens who were inside their homes got locked inside and those who were outside the villages were unable to enter.

It is noteworthy that Rasenhach road is the sole path that leads to these villages and it is the one to get blocked every year.

After this year's speculations on Lebanon's weather for the upcoming winter season, residents fear that the storm might not only block roads but also leave victims behind.

Hamat and Rasenhach municipality heads warned of further delays in constructing support beams to prevent landslides.

Ihab Qlawoun, Rasenhach municipality head, said that the municipality was exerting its utmost effort to carry out necessary procedures, but the potentials were insufficient.

"The government formation delay is causing a delay in providing necessary funds to carry out construction works in these villages," he said.

Qlawoun called on caretaker Public Works Minister, Ghazi Aridi, to give necessary instructions to begin the immediate implementation of the project to protect the lives of citizens, within the HRC whose duty is to compensate for the natural disasters' damages.

====================L.W.