A girl and a boy stand next to their tent, with their feet submerged in water, after heavy rainfall over five days in Northwest Syria caused flooding in the camp. Nearly 600 families live in this camp in northern Idlib, only five kilometers from the Turkish border. ©IYD/CARE

Gaziantep, 24 January, 2021 – More than 22,000 displaced people have lost their temporary homes as heavy rains, flooding, and snow damages and destroys over 4,000 tents at displacement camps in northwest Syria. One child has died and three other people were injured, as a result of the harsh weather conditions.

The storm has turned camps into lakes in some 87 sites for displaced people in northern Idlib and western Aleppo, causing loss of the only belongings people have left after years of conflict. Without heating, blankets and dry mattresses to sleep on, many had to seek shelter with family members, in public buildings or out in the open, as temperatures drop below zero.

CARE’s Country Director in Turkey, Sherine Ibrahim said, “Displacement has yet again caused misery for thousands of vulnerable populations in northwest Syria. With winter setting in, rain, and flooding has destroyed the homes of tens of thousands of people who have already been displaced over the course of nearly a decade of war. Tents, schools, and roads have been heavily impacted by the weather conditions.

With inadequate shelter and increasing hunger for displaced Syrians in the northwest of the country, they are running out of copying strategies to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. Humanitarian organizations like CARE and our partners are rushing to provide emergency relief to those displaced, but reaching those in need has been compounded by the flooding of access roads. We are also concerned that the situation might contribute to the rise in COVID infections and other diseases. There is an urgent need to provide additional funding that allows for infrastructure rehabilitation, as well as for more sustainable shelter solutions in locations that are safe. The time to act is now so that women, children and the elderly are not left out in the bitter cold.”

After snowfall in western Aleppo, children clean above their tent to prevent it from collapsing and push the snow away to stop water leaking inside. ©Shafak/CARE