State of Emergency Declared in Gaza due to Extreme Weather Events

DISASTERS CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
EXTREME WEATHER
EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
FLASH FLOODING
MASS EVACUATIONS
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED
SCENARIOS  888, 560, 477, 444, 220, 200, 178, 111, 100, 080, 071, 070, 069, 027, 025, 023, 05, 03, 02
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Severe Flooding in Gaza: UN Declares State of Emergency

A two-day Extreme Rain Event triggered severe flooding in Gaza, forcing hundreds of residents to flee the ruins of their homes, and prompting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to declare a State of  Emergency across the war-devastated coastal enclave.

“We are very concerned about such severe storms this early in the season and on the back of unprecedented damage and destruction caused by the recent conflict,” said the UN’s Director of Operations for UNRWA in Gaza.

“We are particularly concerned for those families still seeking adequate shelter and preparing for the winter months, and for the impact the flooding is already having on children unable to attend school.”

“Gaza City is one of five areas in the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave where UNRWA serves some 1.3 million Palestine refugees across all Areas,” said the UN agency in a statement.

“As a precautionary measure, 63 schools in Gaza City are closed today for the afternoon shift, affecting almost 65,000 students. Forty-three schools in the North Area of the Strip are also now closed.”

“In December 2013, the fiercest winter storm the region has seen for many years, Alexa, hit the Strip, and brought torrential rains and widespread flooding that displaced thousands. Such devastation exacerbates the already poor humanitarian situation for refugees and non-refugees in Gaza, which is dealing with the aftermath of a recent conflict, and an acute fuel and energy crisis.”

The latest episode of War on Gaza, which lasted 50 days, and ended in late August, killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, said the UN.  A small number of Israeli soldiers and ‘civilians’ in Israel were also killed.