NEW YORK: The harsh winter conditions that humanitarian agencies in Syria warned of have arrived and are making the already dire plight of internally displaced people (IDP) even more desperate.
In the northwest of the country, heavy rain and floods have toppled tents and destroyed food supplies and household items, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest humanitarian bulletin.
During the week of Jan. 14 to 20, about 200 IDP camps in the Idlib and northern Aleppo areas sustained damage that affected more than 67,000 people. About 4,000 tents were destroyed and 7,700 damaged by floods that also blocked roads leading to the camps.
UN responds as thousands in Mozambique are caught in wake of devastating Eloise January 27, 2021
A man stands amidst debris after Tropical Cyclone Eloise barreled through Mozambique, leaving massive destruction in its wake. courtesy UNICEF/Ricardo Franco
A man stands amidst debris after Tropical Cyclone Eloise barreled through Mozambique, leaving massive destruction in its wake. courtesy UNICEF/Ricardo Franco
A person walks along a flooded street in Beira, central Mozambique, near the site where Tropical Cyclone Eloise made landfall on 23 January. courtesy UNICEF/Ricardo Franco
GENEVA UN agencies are ramping up efforts on Tuesday to help communities in Mozambique hit hard by Tropical Cyclone Eloise, which barreled through the country just three weeks after the devastating Tropical Storm Chalane.
8,300 are displaced
160 classrooms & 26 health centres damaged
142,000 hectares of crops flooded
⬆176,000 people affected, according to preliminary Government data. pic.twitter.com/XdaVhaSog1
Preliminary figures indicate that at least six people died and 12 injured, but the number may rise as more information becomes available. The storm also damaged more than 8,800 houses and at least 26 health centres, and disrupted power and communication links.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 176,000 people have been affected, including several thousand displaced. On ground and aerial assessments are ongoing.
Jens Laerke, an OCHA spokesperson told journalists at a media briefing in Geneva that the most urgent humanitarian needs identified so far include food, tents, drinking water, hygiene kits, COVID-19 prevention materials, mosquito nets, and blankets. He also called for more resources to fund response.
File Photo: Palestinian men watch the demolition of a Palestinian house at the order of the Israeli army in the West Bank village of Beit Ula, west of Hebron January 21, 2016. The owners of the house said they were informed by the Israeli army that the demolition was carried out because they did not have an Israeli-issued construction permit. (Photo: Wisam Hashlamoun/APA Images)
The coronavirus is still raging in Palestine, with hundreds of new cases of the virus being reported every day, and a rising death count to boot.
In the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 660 new cases of the coronavirus, and 10 COVID-19 related deaths in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.