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Palestine copes with deep freeze

Storm Huda has brought heavy snow in Ramallah and flooding in Gaza, with several deaths reported.

After Palestine was surprised by last year(***)s snow, the municipality of Ramallah was ready well in advance of Storm Huda last week. Staff prepared 47 storm emergency vehicles, including diggers, snowploughs and 4x4 Jeeps. Emergency supplies were sent out to various areas across the city.
By Rich Wiles and Walaa Ghussein
Published On 11 Jan 2015

Palestine has grappled with fierce weather since Storm Huda hit the region last Wednesday, bringing heavy snow in Ramallah and flooding in Gaza.

In Gaza’s Khan Younis, two-month-old Rafah Ali Abu Assi died due to the freezing temperatures, while two other children and a fisherman also froze to death. Another baby reportedly died in the Ramallah village of Sinjil.

Temperatures dropped to their lowest point in Ramallah, -3C, on Friday night, leaving water pipes frozen across the city. Last year, Storm Alexa caused widespread damage and days of power outages in the region; amid fears of a repeat, shopkeepers in Ramallah reported “panic buying” in the lead-up to Storm Huda.

In Gaza, the effects of the storm were exacerbated by the already difficult situation facing many residents in the wake of the 2014 war. Reconstruction has been slow and many people are still living in temporary shelters.

“We woke up to find the house full of water, and the children crying,” said Samaher al-Shenbary, 32, who lives in a house that shelters 20 family members in Beit Hanoun. “There is no way to warm our children and protect them from the bitter cold.”

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When the snow first hit Ramallah city centre at lunchtime on Wednesday, many people were still out buying supplies.
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The Palestinian Authority published appeals in the media for people to stock up on essential supplies in the days before the storm. Al-Quds newspaper reported that 2.6 million loaves of bread were bought in Ramallah and al-Bireh alone on Tuesday, as panic buying set in. Some bakeries rationed the amount of bread that each customer could buy.
The al-Tireh district was one of the most severely affected areas in Ramallah in 2013, and when Storm Huda hit on Wednesday, a blanket of snow soon covered the district again.
Many roads became impassable due to snowfall in Ramallah, leaving people to abandon their cars and walk home. Police said they rescued hundreds of people, while Ramallah established a 24-hour emergency call centre and emergency response centres in five areas across the city.
Many people moved out onto the streets to help push and dig out cars that were stuck in the snow.
The municipality(***)s snow-clearing vehicles have been working around the clock since the snow began on Wednesday, ensuring that most major roads suffered only short-term blockages.
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Despite fears of a repeat of last year(***)s sustained electricity cuts, which left many people across Ramallah without heating for days, only very short power cuts affected the city during Storm Huda.
On the weekend, another snowstorm hit Ramallah and temperatures dropped to their lowest point yet, leaving some water pipes frozen.
Meanwhile, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, children played in front of their flooded homes after a night of storms and heavy rains.
Families in northern Gaza were sheltering in tents during the storm, while they waited for the UN refugee agency to provide them with more permanent accommodations.
According to preliminary figures announced by the Palestinian government, hundreds of homes flooded in the south, north, and east of the Gaza Strip amid the continuing rain. Rainstorms have increased during night hours and especially on Friday night, leading to the displacement of many citizens.