Magen David Adom paramedics revived a 54-year-old man who collapsed in his home on Saturday in a moshav in the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council.
The man collapsed while attempting to clear a drainage ditch that had been flooded by heavy rain.
The first paramedic to arrive and treat the man was Issachar Weiss, from the medical service's motorcycle unit, who was in a nearby community and rushed to the scene within four minutes in difficult weather conditions, the MDA said. Other immediate response vehicles and an MDA intensive care unit were also called to the scene.
Weiss found the man lying unconscious, wet, and in heavy rain. He immediately began treating him.
When other paramedics arrived, CPR efforts to restore the man included about 11 electric shocks before his heart began beating again. He was then evacuated to Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot in stable condition and regained full consciousness after receiving further medical treatment.
"When I arrived, I saw him lying in a puddle, completely wet, and I immediately started CPR," Weiss said. "With every passing minute, the rain only got stronger, but we knew we didn't have a moment to waste. Seeing him regain consciousness on the way to the hospital is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life."
Saturday sees heavy rain throughout Israel
The incident at the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council on Saturday occurred during a period of heavy rain over Shabbat.
Between Friday night and Saturday morning, a vehicle was flooded and sank in an underpass on Halutzi Hata'a Street in Haifa, Israel Fire and Rescue said.
Teams that arrived at the scene found that the civilians who were in the vehicle escaped on their own. No other trapped people were found in the vehicle, and no injuries were reported.
Nearly 250 calls to Haifa municipality due to weather conditions
The Haifa municipality reported that 247 calls were received at their hotline over the weekend due to the floods in the city. Most of the calls were due to blocked drainage receptacles and fixing asphalt damage, including repairing potholes and road hazards.
Some homes and businesses were slightly damaged due to flooding. The most damage recorded in the city was the uprooting of a few individual trees that toppled over and the extensive mudslides that entered low-lying areas of the city.
Municipality employees removed hazards on Saturday and will continue on Sunday.
No casualties or other serious damage were reported as a result of the weather conditions.