Northern Syria – North-Press Agency
Yesterday, Friday, heavy rainstorms hit all camps in northern Syria, with the absence of any aid by relief organizations despite distress calls from the displaced.
General Coordinator for Homs IDPs Ghaylan al-Atassi told North-Press that a rainstorm started on Friday afternoon and lasted until the late evening hours, hitting a number of camps in the countryside of Aleppo, Idlib, and Jarabulus. The most damage was sustained in al-Karama, Zoghra, and al-Tal camps.
Al-Atassi added that there are no significant movements of relief organizations to save the rain-soaked camps, and there were only voluntary initiatives from the residents of the camps themselves, while there was only a response from the organizations that sponsor their camps such as al-Ayadi al-Bayda camp, al-Resala camp, al-Qatari camp, and al-Haramain camp.
Mudar al-Asaad, the spokesman for the Association of Syrian Refugees, posted on his Facebook account: "Heavy rainwater has caused the cutoff of unpaved roads, and between the tents of the camp, in addition to the wetness of tents that are mostly made of fabrics and burlap sacks."
Commenting on that, a source from the Syrian Civil Defense Forces told North-Press that the rainstorm has struck the camps in northern Syria, and some camps have sent out a distress call, and there has been a response from the Civil Defense to some cases in the camps."
A source from the Syrian Response Coordinators team told North-Press: "The storm coincided with the first day of Ramadan, and the teams were not able to collect information on the details of the extent of damage, but preliminary information indicates that about five camps were slightly damaged, and we need additional time to fully spot and evaluate the damage sites."
According to estimates by the Association of Syrian Refugees in northern Syria, more than 1,250,000 displaced people live in 1,259 camps, including 348 random camps. In addition, tens of thousands of displaced people do not have tents and stay in the open and under trees in fields, with almost complete inability to be provided with health, education, food and housing services.