“Some 300 farmers were affected by the extreme weather on Thursday. The very strong winds damaged citrus trees, greenhouses and banana farms. The financial losses are huge and [worth] well over JD1 million,” Khaddam told The Jordan Times.
The strong winds tore through greenhouses in the northern and central parts of the Jordan Valley, while citrus trees lost their fruits, according to Khaddam, who noted that banana farms in the south of the Jordan Valley were destroyed. “In the southern Jordan Valley near Kafrain area, three banana farms suffered huge losses, while one of them was completely destroyed. The winds were so strong they actually uprooted three-metre-tall banana trees. The farmers lost the trees and lost the fruit.”
The Ministry of Agriculture said that a committee was started on Sunday to evaluate the extent of damage, in order to decide on any compensation. “The team is visiting the affected farms and documenting the extent of damage and the type of damaged fruit. The results should come out in two or three days,” an official at the ministry said.
