Over 200,000 People In Gaza Affected By Floods - UN

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- More than 200,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been affected by floods in the aftermath of last weekend's heavy rains, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported.

“Initial estimates indicate that over 200,000 people may have been affected and require humanitarian support. By yesterday, damage had been reported to more than 40,000 family shelters, over 900 latrines and nine health facilities," OCHA said in a statement posted on Tuesday.

The UN estimates that 950,000 displaced persons are living in flood-prone areas. Of these, 400,000 are assessed as living in areas at an extremely high risk of flooding. Nearly half of them are children.

On Monday, the UN children's agency UNICEF reported that heavy rains in the central Gaza Strip caused a sand dune to collapse onto a tent, killing a woman and three children, aged four, five, and eight.

Humanitarian workers have identified 245 temporary shelter sites and 23 road sections that require urgent intervention using heavy machinery, primarily in Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip.

Humanitarian organisations warn that there is a shortage of places for people to relocate to if their homes have been flooded or destroyed by military action. This is because Israeli authorities continue to restrict Palestinian access to areas beyond the so-called "yellow line", leaving a large portion of the Gaza Strip inaccessible.

Furthermore, humanitarian organisations noted the need for urgent funding and for Israel to grant permits to bring in heavy machinery, as well as motor oil and spare parts required to keep vehicles, equipment, and backup generators in working order.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI