'Flood Chasers' Throng To Judean Desert

Ofer Ben Asher, of Tel Aviv, is one of the most veteran "flood chasers" in Israel. Since 1991 he has been going to the Judean desert regularly whenever there is a flood.

Yesterday we met him on the bank of Arugot River. "Once we were completely alone, we used to call the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPa), find where the flow began and take off," he says.

Flood chasing has become much more sophisticated since then. Yesterday Ben Asher started out by checking the cloud radar on the Internet and looking up weather forecasts.

"When you see the rain front reaching the Hebron and Jerusalem area, it's time to be on your way," he says.

Ben Asher was not alone. The Judean Desert was teeming with hikers who came to see the floods, an activity that has taken off recently.

"People are looking for thrills. An ordinary hike no longer excites them, they need a thrill, and floods are a thrill," says Ein Gedi Field School director Kitri Maoz.

Amir Balaban, the director of the bird watching station of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel(SPNI) in Jerusalem and a veteran flood chaser says: "On such a day the desert changes completely. If you go out to the desert today you're in for a treat."

Balaban does not like the term flood chaser. "These are not hurricanes, after all," he says. "Seeing a flood is like seeing an iceberg avalanche in Patagonia, only you don't have to travel across half the world. It's an hour from Jerusalem."

Dozens of vehicles crowd in the Judean Desert's paths. The most popular spots were the large rivers crossing the Dead Sea road - Og, Dragot, Arugot, Hever and Ze'elim. Also, one must not miss the waterfalls of Hatzatzon, Salvadora and Kedem rivers.

Yesterday was a perfect day for floods, there was sufficient rain for water to flow in most river beds, but without flooding roads or endangering cars.

One of the most popular spots is on the upper Dragot river, dubbed Mashash-Murbat river. Several waterfalls flow furiously from the brown water, forming a series of pools among the rocks.

Yedidia Hefetz, a guide in the Kfar Etzion Field School, arrives with a group of guides. He swiftly takes his clothes off and dives into one of the small pools. "After five minutes it's not cold," he tries to persuade his friends to join him.

Shuki Alpert is the uncrowned leader of a group of some 20 accessorized jeep owners from Holon. He won the title by virtue of his special hot chocolate recipe, which he brews on every trip. "We go according to the weatherpeople and our gut feeling. When there's a rain forecast we drop everything and come," he says.

"When it rains in the desert, adults turn into children. "Rain, rain, come, come," they sing at the top of their voices. Not far from them stands Ilil, a State Prosecution attorney, in her lawyer's garb. "I had a court hearing this morning, I finished it and came for the important stuff," she says.

Haaretz