Displaced Gazans face flood risks as emergency aid is blocked: UN agency

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans face flooding of their tents and shelters by heavy rain, and materials for shelters and sandbags are not being allowed to enter the enclave, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Dec 12.

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A total of 12 people are dead or missing as a result of the storm, with at least 13 buildings having collapsed and 27,000 tents flooded, the media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government said.

Torrential rain swept across the Gaza Strip on Dec 11, flooding hundreds of tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war, and leading to the death of a baby girl due to exposure, local health officials said.

Nearly 795,000 displaced people are at heightened risk from potentially dangerous flooding in low-lying, rubble-filled areas where families are living in unsafe shelters, the IOM said.