Heavy rain floods 70,000 tents in Gaza as UNICEF warns of health crisis

Heavy rain brought by the season’s first low-pressure system rendered around 70,000 tents unusable in Gaza. Civil Defense said 350,000 displaced people were affected, while UNICEF warned that rainwater had mixed with sewage.

Heavy rain brought by the season’s first low-pressure system flooded tens of thousands of tents and shelters housing displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Civil Defense said 350,000 people were affected by the rainfall. Around 70,000 tents became unusable.

Civil Defense said it received 2,166 calls for help from families whose tents had been flooded but could reach only 218 of them because of a lack of equipment. Three homes partially collapsed due to strong winds at the Nuseirat camp, while the roof of a home collapsed in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. No one was injured in these incidents.

The Gaza Government Media Office said the initial damage was approximately $3 million and warned that buildings damaged by bombing during the war could collapse. Civil Defense said more than 2,000 buildings were at risk of collapse if the necessary equipment was not allowed into the area, adding that 300,000 tents were urgently needed. The Gaza Municipality said rainfall in the city had approached 60 millimeters, equivalent to about 15 percent of the annual average.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also warned of a public health crisis. UNICEF official Jonathan Veitch said rainwater had mixed with sewage at the Sheikh Radwan pond, where floodwaters normally collect, and that the pond could overflow. UNICEF renewed its call for the equipment needed to repair Gaza’s water and sewage systems to be allowed into the area.