The UN and its partners are helping more than 1 million displaced people suffering severe winter weather in settlements in northern Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
In Syria, snow, cold rain, and severe winter weather across the north are compounding the misery of people already struggling with conflict, mass displacement, and economic crisis, OCHA said.
The 1.7 million displaced people living in over 1,400 camps and other informal settlements across the north-west are suffering the most from the severe weather.
Since Tuesday, 18 January, heavy snow has impacted more than 100,000 displaced people in 85 sites, the aid agency said.
More than 1,000 tents have been damaged or destroyed, as heavy snow has collapsed their roofs. Women, children and the elderly have been exposed to the cold.
One child was killed when a tent collapsed; the mother is in intensive care, OCHA said.
Heavy rainfall has caused misery in hundreds of other sites hosting more than 150,000 people, it added.
According to OCHA, the most pressing needs include opening up roads to the displacement sites so that aid can reach people in need, relocating people without shelter to safer places, providing heating, replacing destroyed tents, and providing food and other essential assistance.
“The UN has been preparing for the winter response before the current storms and identified 2.2 million people who need winterization assistance, UCHA said. “But a lack of resources meant that only half of the people who need help have received it.”
The UN calls for continued support to meet the humanitarian needs of millions of vulnerable people in need in north-west Syria and throughout the country, the office said.
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