Gaza faces deadly winter floods as millions live in makeshift shelters
More than 2 million people in Gaza struggle with basic survival in tent camps as winter approaches. Heavy rains threaten to worsen the already-critical situation with damaged infrastructure and limited aid access
Bisan Owda showed the harsh reality of Gazaʼs winter last year: flooding tents and rain-soaked shelters became home for countless families. Now‚ a year later things look way more difficult
The numbers paint a grim picture: nine-tenths of Gazaʼs people dont have proper homes‚ while two-thirds of buildings are damaged or gone (based on last months UN check). Basic stuff like water pipes and sewers: most dont work anymore
Al-Mawasi‚ a small beach-side area thats supposed to be safe‚ has turned into a mega-camp: about 1.8 million people live there now in make-shift shelters; its twice as packed as Cairo (the biggest city in middle-east)
Winter brings special problems to tent-camps: disease spreads fast; water gets mixed with waste‚ and people cant stay dry. The camps have very few toilets - just 121 for half-a-million people back in summer‚ and now its much worse. A simple bar of soap costs $10 (when you can find it)‚ and basic cleaning stuff isnt available
weʼre drowning
The water situation is extra-bad: people get only 2.5 liters per day - way below the 15 liters they need. Most water sources are broken or blocked‚ and fixing them is super-dangerous: four water engineers died recently while trying to fix pipes
- No clean water for 95% of people
- Most sewage pumps dont work
- Basic hygiene items cost too much
- Aid deliveries are at lowest point in months
US officials tried to help: they gave Israel a month to make things better‚ but that didnt work - aid is still blocked. The winter floods are coming‚ and without big changes many lives are at risk
