Space Industry and Business News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Drenched and displaced: Gazans living in tents face winter downpours

Drenched and displaced: Gazans living in tents face winter downpours

by AFP Staff Writers
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Nov 14, 2025

A barefoot Niven Abu Zreina swept an incessant stream of water away from her tent, as the season's first big rain hit her makeshift displacement camp in Gaza City.

"I've been trying since morning to sweep away the rainwater that flooded our tent," the Palestinian told AFP, her wet hijab sticking to her face.

"The scene speaks for itself. Rainwater soaked our clothes and mattress," she said, while next to her a relative kept sweeping away the rain, also barefoot.

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, warned on Friday that the water had overwhelmed thousands of tents erected to cope with the mass displacement caused by the war.

"Since dawn today, we have received hundreds of appeals from displaced citizens whose homes and tents have been flooded by the rain," Bassal said, adding that there were not enough tents to begin with.

- 'What am I supposed to do?' -

Located between the Sinai and the Negev desert on one side, and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, the tiny Gaza Strip receives almost all of its precipitation via strong rain in the late autumn and winter.

But with strict Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and humanitarian aid, displaced Gazans have erected tents and makeshift shelters that are inadequate for downpours.

Last month's truce between Hamas and Israel has eased part of the restrictions, but with about 92 percent of residential buildings damaged or destroyed during the war according to the UN, needs vastly supersede what little can enter on trucks.

A humanitarian source told AFP that restrictions on many materials required for building shelters, such as certain types of tent poles, were still not being allowed into Gaza.

Elsewhere in the camp bordering the Mediterranean Sea, a man used a broom handle to dislodge water accumulating in the centre of a tarp he had set up as an awning for his tent.

In the camps' low-lying areas, water pooled and accumulated before it could stream away towards the sea, leaving some children wading ankle deep in water.

Enaam al-Batrikhi, an activist at the displacement camp, said she felt powerless when women came to her for help.

"How could I possibly help them?" she asked, adding that her own tent was flooded.

Nura Abu el-Kass, another displaced woman from the camp, said she found her mattress, blankets and clothes all soaked.

"My son sent me this tent, but it doesn't protect us (from rainwater). What am I supposed to do?"

- 'Not safe to live' -

In the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis, Mohammed Shabat and his wife and five children were also struggling because of the weather, as cold drafts have been seeping through their tent's openings.

"We live in a cemetery, and I have a baby. This tent does not protect us from the cold or the rain," said Shabat, sitting on the sand between graves.

"Soon winter will come, and it will be very difficult," he added.

Sitting by a stove built out of stacked concrete blocks, Shabat's wife Alaa was preoccupied with the coming cold.

"A tent is not a safe place to live with young children. The cold wind penetrates the tent in the evening and the temperature is very low."

The temperature in Gaza falls to between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius (59 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, but any dip in temperature brings added suffering to Gazans already struggling with inadequate shelters and lack of proper nutrition.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Cash only: how the loss and damage UN fund will pay countries
Belem, Brazil (AFP) Nov 11, 2025
A hard-won UN "loss and damage" fund to help vulnerable countries recover from the devastating impacts of climate change is finally about to come to life after years of tough negotiations. The mechanism was agreed at the COP27 conference in Egypt in 2022 after wealthy countries finally caved to years of pressure from developing nations. The fund launched its first call for project proposals on Monday at COP30 in Belem, Brazil. The initial package totals $250 million, with grants expected to ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
BASF boss says China investments vital for growth

Quantum timing and sensing partnership set to reshape space infrastructure

Mushroom material takes on plastic packaging at Belgian start-up

As AI data scrapers sap websites' revenues, some fight back

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Vodafone, AST pick Germany for European satellite network

Possible interference to space communications found as atmospheric CO2 rises

China sends advanced communications satellite into orbit

Airbus, Thales, Leonardo sign deal to create satellite powerhouse

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
PntGuard delivers maritime resilience against navigation signal interference

Next-generation visual navigation startup Vermeer secures major funding milestone

GMV technology links global habitats in record-breaking space analog mission

China's satellite network group advances Beidou-internet integration

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Light powered micromotors achieve flight in open air

Stevens researchers advance hypersonic flight with breakthrough turbulence study

Turkish military plane with 20 on board crashes in Georgia

At COP30, nations target the jet set with luxury flight tax

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
AI-driven optical chip achieves real time tensor operations for next gen intelligence systems

Gold electron spins mapped in full resolve decades-old surface debate

Zinc oxide device achieves electric control of triple quantum dots for quantum computing

Next-generation memristor project aims for sustainable neuromorphic computing

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
CSES satellite tracks shifting South Atlantic anomaly and impact on solar cycle twenty five

S&P Global finalizes deal for ORBCOMM satellite vessel tracking network

Brazil gears up to harness ESA's Biomass data

Wits expands earth science with new observatory and CORES center

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
BHP liable for 2015 Brazil mine disaster: UK court

New research measures how much plastic is lethal for marine life

Right-tilting EU parliament backs unpicking green business rules

Light pollution disrupts carbon cycle balance across continents

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.