WATCH: Home Front Command goes on winter storm standby around Safed and Jerusalem
Snowplows deployed to sensitive areas and armored vehicles put on standby as alternative routes to Safed and Jerusalem are planned.
By YAAKOV LAPPINIDF preparations for snow storm
The IDF Home Front Command has gone on standby in the Safed and Jerusalem areas on Tuesday ahead of a winter storm.Col. Itzik Bar, Operations officer for the Home Front Command said he hoped civilian authorities will be able to take the lead in responding to the storm, and that the military takes a back seat role."Our mission is to assist the Israel Police, which has command and control leadership of this event. We are the military assistance branch. All of the military's help will go through the Home Front Command," Bar said."Preparations are complete. Upon first snowfall, the police will shut down roads in Safed and Jerusalem, and alternative routes will be opened. We have set up a joint command room with all of the organizations responding to the weather," he added.The Home Front Command has deployed snowplows to the areas that will be affected by the snow, and armored personnel carriers are on standby, ready to head out with medical crews to areas that are in need of assistance."We are assisting the Electric Corporation in the north and Jerusalem, and are ready to move their repair crews, and deliver generators to areas that might be cut off from the grid," said the officer."We have also coordinated with the firefighters and Magen David Adom paramedics, who have concentrated units in the north and Jerusalem," Bar said.He added that levels of preparation were significantly higher than last year, when a winter storm battered Safed and Jerusalem with snow, leaving drivers stranded in their vehicles and residents trapped in homes without power and heat.