In preparation for the 50th anniversary celebration of the settlement of Naot - the Square we gathered and reminisced, the following is something we all hear about and only a few know how to appreciate its power, a flood
In the many years that I stayed and traveled in the desert, I had the privilege of watching many floods, hearing about many, and being a "victim" of three floods.
Already at the beginning of the agricultural settlement in Naot-HaKer, a drainage canal was dug that was supposed to prevent floods in Nahal Arba from flooding the fields, the canal did not prevent the flooding and therefore, knowing the danger/damages to agricultural areas caused by floods, the KKL-Junk built a diversion dam that was supposed to prevent the damages, the first dam was built in 1963, immediately after its establishment there was a flood in Arava, the current of water broke the floating dam and swept away about 40 dunams of tomatoes before harvesting. Of course, a second dam was built in 1964... and again a fierce flood broke the dam, this time dozens of dunams of melons, onions and two rows of an experimental grape vineyard were swept away and flooded.
Experience helped and over the years a large, strong, wide and long dam was built, the length was significant because the dam tilted the stream eastward and allowed the development of agricultural fields in an area that was previously off limits, and thus, as a result of two failed attempts, the farmers gained additional arable land.
In the third flood... there was no profit. In the year 1965, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the starting point was the farm in Naot HaKer from where field trips were conducted that lasted three and a half days through Nahal Tzin, Abdat, Makhtes Ramon, Nachal Nakarot, Nahal Peran, the plains of the Peran and up to Eilat. The vehicle - "Commandkar" 6x6 from the remnants of World War II that was brought to Israel and adapted to transport 12 tourists.
The participants: 24 Swiss tourists in two vehicles and trailers in which most of the tourists' belongings and everything necessary to stay in the field, drivers/guides in a multi-engine vehicle designed to transport tourists: Zev Shachem (Titz), the tour director previously worked in the hydrological service, David "Opnoe" a farm worker who joined as an assistant , Nati Hershkowitz... who came a short time ago and disappeared after the event (those who know, know, heard or can help locate Nati... be blessed!) The author / collected: a young guide who learned to know, love and appreciate the desert.
It is worth mentioning that in 1964, a stream overflowed the dam protecting the Sikh in Wadi Musa in Jordan, 20 Swiss nuns were swept to their waists in the flood in Petra. Our tourists knew about the flood in Petra.
As part of the Naot HaKar desert trips, we picked up the tourists at Masada, after a night at the farm we drove through Tzin to Abed, on a warm and sunny autumn day (the eve of Yom Kippur) we continued into the Ramon Crater, in Ein Saharonim I dropped the tourists off for a walk in Farsa Nekorot, as mentioned, it's a warm sunny day and most of the tourists are dressed In swimsuits (or less) the guide - me, in shorts and barefoot (being naked was a symbol of the proper guides of the square) we go for a walk while the drivers in the car drive (around) to the end of the horseshoe, where they will wait for us in a cave where we will have lunch.
I lead the walkers - happy and kind-hearted - when after about an hour I turn my gaze to the sky in the west and see "black"... a huge cloud covers the whole west, since we are all dressed lightly I speed up the pace, five minutes later when we are a short distance from the destination it starts to drizzle, the tourists who feel A little cold increases the pace and within a few minutes we are all back in the cave, protected from the rain and busy with lunch. The rain got stronger, in consultation with Titz we decided to go out and move the vehicle to a higher place... We decided, but every attempt to get out of the cave was a risk because the rain turned into a hailstorm and stones fell at the entrance of the cave.
In the meantime, a flow began in the stream, first a trickle that got stronger, the water in the stream rose and began to penetrate the cave where we were sitting, we climbed a step in the cave, after a while the water began to go down and rise again, through the mouth of the cave we saw the flow of water increasing and in the cave the water level rose until there was no dry place to be In it, we had no choice but to leave the cave to a goat path that led up the steep slope of the mountain, we went up the path to the top of Mount Karach, all of us in skimpy clothing struggling in the wind and hail, looking for a hiding place and not finding it, the rain and the wind stopped, the face of the bare mountain is covered with balls of hail, Titz is trying to think of what to do And I take Nati to a point from where you can see the opening of the cave and the place where the vehicles were... were there? Their remains could still be seen paddling in the stream, Nati with incredible innocence asks me with I think "after the water recedes we will be able to start the car"...
We returned to the group at about four in the afternoon and the cloudiness causes early darkness. We decided that Titz and Nati (who speaks French) would stay with the tourists, while David (motorcycle) and I would go in the direction of the road (40) in order to call for help, and so we walked with the general direction being west, but the absolute darkness that fell did not make the walk any easier, after about two hours I felt (more than I saw) ) because we are on the edge of a cliff, without the possibility of being sure of the direction of our progress and fear of falling off the cliff we stopped, groping with our hands we found a niche into which we curled up.
Meanwhile, 24 half-naked Swiss and two astonished Israelis are sitting on top of Mount Korach, despite the rain and wind, they managed to light a symbolic bonfire around which they gathered until sunrise. At sunrise, they all went down to the Nekrot River and began collecting remains, parts of luggage becameInsole For the legs, here and there a piece of clothing was found, a tin of biscuits was a cache, at this point of course it was clear even to Nati that... it would not be possible to start the vehicle.
David and I took advantage of the first light and went down to the wadi we were in, it turns out that we found shelter in a silo in an abandoned David, we crossed the wadi and immediately reached the road, but today is Yom Kippur early in the morning and there is no traffic on the road even on weekdays. We are going towards Mitzpe-Ramon (30 km), luckily after a few minutes a military vehicle drove us to the Mitzpe, on the way when we crossed Nahal Nakrato I spotted on the side of the road the roof of a vehicle that belonged to the hydrological service... A neighbor's car was swept off the road and covered in drifts up to its roof!
We arrived at the Mitzpe-Ramon police station and of course I immediately called for help, help meaning rescue with the help of an Air Force helicopter, and I also informed the farm (Neot Ha'kaar) of the need for help and rescue. We arrived at the Mitzvah, (I started calling for help) shortly before 0800... the rescue helicopter arrived at 1600. After the fact it became clear to me that the delay was because: "the chief rabbi's approval was needed to lift a helicopter". I boarded the helicopter and since I didn't know what Titz and the tourists were doing, I headed for the Ice Mountain, Titz did not wait for the "Messiah" but began to lead the tourists in the direction of the Mitzpe, on the way the pilot noticed the group, we got off and rescued everyone to the Mitzpe, meanwhile our vehicles arrived at the Mitzpe with blankets and food and after After a warm and dry break, the tourists were returned to their base, which was the Akziv resort.
After a few days, we went down to Nahal Nakerot in an attempt to rescue and save what was possible, we managed to assemble and renew one (of two) NN, to this day after a stream, objects or car parts from that event are discovered.
end
The Swiss tourists who returned almost penniless to Achziv were housed in the straw buildings, that night there was a rainstorm in Achziv that flooded those Sukkots....
Epilogue
It was customary for the rescue unit of the Air Force to have a "meeting of survivors and rescuers" every year, since Yom Kippur 1965 there have been no meetings...
One response
A fascinating story over the years and the one who renovated the 2nd N.N. The first of the Naot square desert trips
Micah Salomon.