On January 17, 2023, heavy rainfall caused extensive damage to a reception center housing earthquake-affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) in al-Zouf area in rural areas near Jisr al-Shoghour city in western rural Idlib governorate, with the rainwater forming large streams that poured into the Orontes River in the area. The rainfall also resulted in heavy flooding, uprooting 10 tents and partially damaging 15 others. The area is under the control of armed opposition factions and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that camp’s residents are grappling with extremely dire humanitarian conditions with the onset of the winter season and rainfalls. It should be also noted that these repeated occurrences further worsen the already dire living conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), exacerbating their existing hardships. We urge international relief organizations, including the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to urgently respond to the camps’ basic needs, and provide camps’ administration with additional tens for emergencies.
