Tents housing thousands of displaced families flooded in Gaza

Gaza has been battered by dangerous torrential rains over the past few days, with floodwater levels reaching a meter and a half in some areas. People have been struggling to protect their belongings and keep water out of their tents. Some are using shovels to build makeshift barriers. Others are trying to drain the water by hand. Local officials say displaced Palestinians are living in about 270,000 tents in Gaza and that as many as 85% of the tents are dilapidated. On top of the torrential rains, cold weather is forecast for the region, which could make the situation even more dangerous. This morning, there were funeral services held for two of the children that were killed in that. Sand bank collapse that happened late Sunday in the community of Deir Al Balah. That happened at a time when many people were in their tents, children were sleeping, and it really resulted in a panic situation. People started digging. They didn't know if anyone was buried under that sand. These rains are not unusual. It's the start of the winter season, so there will be more storms just like this. And given the huge population that is displaced, And have been living in camps for years now. They are just talking about the frustration about their daily lives and the lack of basic services. Let me see if that's... For three years, we have not seen anything. We bought the tents from our own money and everything is now torn apart. What should we do? All our belongings are soaked. I don't have blankets for the kids to sleep now. No one slept because everyone is afraid that their children And tents will drown, the same as last year. The water reached our ankles. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is saying just over this past weekend they received a number of requests for help, saying that more than 6,000 families said that their tents, their structures were destroyed. And it's not just those living areas. 66 latrines were also destroyed, more than 600 damaged. So when you're looking at that floodwater, When you're looking at those displacement camps, it's not just water, but water mixed in with sewer. And that is what people there are dealing with and now trying to figure out what sort of items they can salvage.