UN Warns Floods Threaten 40 Percent Gaza Region, 760 High Risk Locations

Illustration of Gaza refugees. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - The United Nations on Thursday warned that heavy rains caused severe flooding in hundreds of refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, placing nearly half of the region's population at increased risk amid already dire conditions.

"Heavy rains have flooded tents, wetped residents' belongings and increased health risks, including hypothermia in infants and diseases associated with overflowing wastewater," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a news conference, citing the Office of Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA). ), as reported by Anadolu (12/12).

"Today, our team in the field has prepared a system for a quick joint response to flood warnings," he said, adding UN agencies along with non-governmental organizations, were involved in distributing tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes, blankets, and basic necessities throughout Gaza.

Stated that UN partners on the ground helped families prepare themselves for flooding by distributing empty sacks of flour to be used as sandbags, along with equipment and sand wherever possible, Haq said: "Based on their flood risk analysis, more than 760 refugee camps hosting about 850,000 people are at the highest risk of flooding."

"That's about 40 percent of the Gaza population," he said.

He added that the region's rapid joint response system had "processed more than 160 flood warnings" since Thursday morning.