State of emergency declared as flood rains batter Gaza

A state of emergency has been declared in Gaza City by the UN Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA), after enormous rainfall lead to massive floods in the Palestinian city.

"The flooding is exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by blockade and the unprecedented destruction from the latest Israeli offensive," the UN agency said in a Facebook post, in reference to the 51-day long Israeli war against Gaza this summer, known as Operation Protective Edge. 

The agency said that it was "providing emergency fuel to supply back-up generators for pumping stations, portable pumps, municipalities, water, sanitation and health facilities."

UNRWA added that it was preparing to provide shelter for those displaced in the flooding should it be needed.

The agency said that 63 schools across Gaza City and 43 schools across the North Gaza Strip had been closed and hundreds of residents in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of the city had been evacuated.

A civil defence worker was quoted by the Washington Post as saying the floods were “worse than last year as the infrastructure of Gaza is weaker and more damaged, without real help by all parties, the situation will be catastrophic."

A severe lack of fuel, exacerbated by the eight year-old Israeli blockade of the Strip has made it more difficult to pump water out of flooded areas, while a lack of machinery related to sewage management has also worsened the recovery.

UNRWA announced on Thursday that 60,000 of emergency fuel had been sent to pumping stations to alleviate the shortage.

Some on social media, however, took a lighter view of the damage:

Thursday is the fourth straight day of heavy rain across the region. Temperatures have also been unusually low as a result. More rain is expected in the coming days. 

Though $5.4 bn had been pledged by donors at a conference in Egypt in October for the reconstruction of Gaza following Israel's assault, there has been little real progress which has further exacerbated the flood damage.

This summer's war killed up to 2,200 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, and displaced thousands more. More than 100,000 people are still homeless from the assault. More than 70 people, mainly soliders, were killed on the Israeli side.