Heavy rain and strong winds have flooded displacement shelters across the Gaza Strip, damaging tents used by tens of thousands of Palestinians and prompting at least 1,500 emergency calls, according to authorities cited by Al Jazeera on Sunday.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the storm, which began late Friday, flooded 70,000 tents and brought down dozens of walls. It estimated damage at $3 million.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera correspondent Ibrahim al-Khalili described soaked mattresses, pillows and clothing after rain and wind tore through makeshift shelters that families had tried to reinforce. Nearly 400,000 displaced Palestinians are staying in locations considered highly vulnerable to further flooding, he reported.

The Gaza Civil Defence said more than 2,000 buildings were at risk of collapse. It also said at least 300,000 tents were needed to provide adequate shelter for displaced people affected by the weather.

In Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, Al Jazeera correspondent Ashraf Abu Amra reported that displaced families whose shelters had flooded had received no food aid since early Saturday.

Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s special representative in Palestine, said most people were living in “terrible conditions” and called for additional funding to deliver aid.

The storm compounds a shelter crisis caused by the destruction of homes and infrastructure during the war. Al Jazeera reported that continuing Israeli restrictions on aid, shelter supplies and reconstruction materials have hampered relief efforts.

Sources