The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is providing emergency aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon after a heavy storm hit the country on Sunday (6 January).
Hiba Fares, UNHCR Public Information Officer, said the agency had been trying to help families affected by flooding. She added some people had their tents torn or broken while others had been forced to move to their neighbours’ or relatives’ tents.
The agency estimates that 50,000 refugees living in around 850 informal settlements could be affected by the flooding. No injuries or casualties have been reported to date.
In Lebanon, life is a daily struggle for more than a million Syrian refugees, who have little or no financial resources. Around 70 percent live below the poverty line. There are no formal refugee camps and, as a result, Syrians are scattered throughout more than 2,100 urban and rural communities and locations, often sharing small basic lodgings with other refugee families in overcrowded conditions.
Since 2011, more than 5.6 million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries and beyond. Millions more are displaced within the country’s borders. UN agencies and their partners have appealed for $5.5 billion to cover humanitarian needs this year~UNHCR
