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Torrential rains hit desert Jordan, floods sweep Mideast
Topic Started: 9 Jan 2013, 01:35 AM (101 Views)
skibboy
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08 JANUARY 2013

Torrential rains hit desert Jordan, floods sweep Mideast

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People drive through flooded streets in the Jordanian capital of Amman, on January 8, 2013. Torrential rains swept through desert Jordan for a second straight day on Tuesday, sparking widespread flooding, as severe weather swept through the Middle East, including war-torn Syria.

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A man sits on top of his car which is stuck in a flooded road near the Israeli-Arab town of Kfar Qara, in central Israel, on January 8, 2013. In Israel and the Palestinian territories, heavy rain continued to fall on and temperatures dropped ahead of possible snowfall.

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Snow falls on the outskirts of Damascus on January 8, 2013, in this picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency. Heavy rains and wind hit several parts of Syria, and a buildup of snowfall in Damascus made some roads unusable, the interior ministry said.

AFP - Torrential rains swept through desert Jordan for a second straight day on Tuesday, sparking widespread flooding, as severe weather swept through the Middle East, including war-torn Syria.

In northern Jordan, relief workers distributing aid to Syrian refugees were injured in a "stampede" in a camp where hundreds of tents have been destroyed by the rains.

In Israel and the Palestinian territories, heavy rain continued to fall on and temperatures dropped ahead of possible snowfall, while Egyptian authorities closed the port of Alexandria for a third straight day due to severe winds.

The main road between the Jordanian capital and the northern city of Zarqa was closed as sections were swamped by up to a metre (three feet) of water, and flash floods overwhelmed Amman's drainage system, forcing the closure of most road tunnels and gridlocking traffic.

At the Zaatari camp on the border with Syria, "refugees started to push each other as they ran towards aid workers. They hurled stones at each other and there was a stampede, which hurt some aid workers," Anmar Hmud, a government spokesman for refugee affairs, told AFP.

"At least one of the aid workers was taken to hospital," he added.

The incident occurred as aid workers were helping some of the 62,000 Syrians sheltering in the camp, where two days of heavy rains have destroyed hundreds of tents.

Jordan says it is hosting more than 290,000 Syrians who have fled the devastating conflict in its northern neighbour.

Syria's met office predicted abundant rainfall for the next two days, as heavy rains and wind hit several parts of the country, and a buildup of snowfall in Damascus made some roads unusable, the interior ministry said.

In neighbouring Lebanon, a day after a six-month-old baby was swept away when a flash flood hit a Bedouin encampment, the storms continued across the country.

Roads in Beirut were flooded and schools were closed nationwide on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Damascus-Beirut road was forced to shut and rains caused widespread damage to farmland.

"Lebanon hasn't seen a storm like this in a dozen years," said Abdel Karim Damaj, a weather expert at Beirut International Airport.

Elsewhere in the region, Jerusalem was bracing for possible snowfall over night Wednesday to Thursday, as temperatures dropped and heavy rain continued to fall on Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Tel Aviv's main transport artery reopened on Tuesday evening after being closed due to flooding since the morning, causing large traffic jams. Trains were out of service for much of the day.

Streets in many West Bank cities were flooded, and the Palestinian Authority ordered schools which were back from half-term to take Wednesday and Thursday off.

Israel's met office said this winter was set to be the wettest in a decade.

Egypt closed the port of Alexandria for a third day in a row as a precaution, as high winds battered the Mediterranean city after torrential rains caused power cuts.

Further west, 10 fishermen were reported missing off the coast of the desert town of Marsa Matruh, and searches to find them were being hampered by the weather conditions, local media reported.

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skibboy
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08 JANUARY 2013

Jordan aid workers hurt in Syrian refugee 'stampede'

AFP - Humanitarian workers distributing aid to Syrian refugees in northern Jordan after destructive rains were injured in a "stampede" on Tuesday, officials said.

"Refugees started to push each other as they ran towards the aid workers. They hurled stones at each other and there was a stampede, which hurt some aid workers," Anmar Hmud, a government spokesman for refugee affairs, told AFP.

"At least one of the aid workers was taken to hospital."

The incident occurred as aid workers were helping some of the 62,000 Syrians sheltering in the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan near the Syrian border, where hundreds of tents have been destroyed by two days of heavy rains.

"Bad weather and heavy rain in the past two days have affected 500 tents in Zaatari," Ali Bibi, in charge of cooperation and international relations at UN refugee agency UNHCR, told AFP.

"We are now are working with the Jordanian government to move hundreds of refugees to caravans."

There are 4,000 caravans and 4,500 tents at the six month old camp, which has seen several protests by refugees against poor living conditions, including a lack of electricity.

Jordan, which says it is hosting more than 290,000 Syrians, suffers bad weather in winter, including the torrential downpours seen in recent days.

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Edited by skibboy, 9 Jan 2013, 01:44 AM.
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skibboy
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09 JANUARY 2013

Syrian refugees in Jordan battle winter storms

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A Syrian refugee removes water and mud around his tent at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border with Jordan, on January 9, 2013. Thousands of Syrian refugees in northern Jordan have appealed for help after three days of winter storms left them battling mud, water and plummeting temperatures.

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Syrian refugees make their way through muddy ground at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border with Jordan on January 9, 2013. The seven-square-kilometre camp, home to more than 62,000 Syrian refugees, was almost entirely swamped.

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A Syrian refugee child makes her way through muddy ground at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border with Jordan, on January 9, 2013. Torrential downpours swept through desert Jordan for a third straight day on Wednesday.

AFP - Thousands of Syrian refugees in northern Jordan have appealed for help after three days of winter storms left them battling mud, water and plummeting temperatures.

"The situation has become absolutely miserable after three days of heavy rain," Yusef Hariri, 38, told AFP at the Zaatari refugee camp near the country's border with Syria.

The father of four stood with his family in the mud and the freezing cold near their tent, which was ripped apart by wind and water.

"My sister's tent was also damaged. She and her five children have joined us in looking for a new tent. Not even animals live this way," he said in frustration, his clothes soaked by the rain.

The seven-square-kilometre (2.8-square-mile) Zaatari camp, home to more than 62,000 Syrian refugees, was almost entirely swamped.

Some refugees dug shallow trenches around their tents in a vain attempt to keep the water out.

Mohammad Hamed, 30, and his wife worked to move some of their belongings to his brother's tent.

"My tent has been destroyed. I tried to fix it but it did not work. We don't know what to do," said Hamed who fled the conflict in Syria a month ago.

"We need help. Urgent help. If this situation continues, our children will die."

Torrential downpours swept through desert Jordan for a third straight day on Wednesday, sparking widespread flooding and chaos as a wave of abnormal storms blasted the Middle East.

"We are told to be patient. How can children be patient? They need blankets to feel warm. Nobody feels for us. We should have stayed in Syria," said Hariri, who fled the flashpoint Daraa area in the south four months ago.

The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that two days of bad weather and heavy rain had destroyed 500 out of Zaatari's 4,500 tents.

It added that it was working with the government to move the refugees into some of the 4,000 caravans already at Zaatari.

"Each one of us is given two light blankets. What should we do with them? The strong wind nearly tore down our tent," said Sabha angrily of wind speeds of 100 kilometres (60 mph) per hour recorded during the storms.

"Any official we complain to says 'it's none of my business.' This is too much to take. Where should we go?" asked the 60-year-old woman.

Jordan says it is hosting more than 290,000 Syrians, and hundreds more cross the border daily into the kingdom, fleeing the fighting between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels.

More than 21 months of violence in Syria have killed at least 60,000 people, according to the United Nations.

The UN has predicted the number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries will double to 1.1 million by June if the civil war does not end by then.

Zaatari residents have staged several protests against poor living conditions since the camp opened in July.

Hussein Hurani, 42, laid stones under his tent to raise it above water level.

"We are sinking. We cannot sleep or eat and we cannot do anything. I'm afraid the situation will get worse," he said.

His wife was more forceful.

"We've been let down. All the Arabs have let us down and thrown us in this desert. We are shocked and sad," she said.

Nearby, Abdelmajid Mohammad, 35, trudged through the mud, his head covered with a blanket.

"I'm afraid one of my sons will die from this cold weather. I feel guilty all the time for leaving Syria and coming here, where we face humiliation 24 hours a day," said the father of four.

"At least in Syria we die at home and quickly. Here death is very slow. Look around you... as if tents are floating in the sea."

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