A Rare Winter Storm Hits The Middle East, Blanketing Desert in Snow
A rare winter storm hit the Middle East, blanketing the desert in snow. The storm, named Alexa, started on Wednesday, December 11, brought significant snowfall to areas of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. Cities such as Cairo, which hadn't see snow in over 112 years were caught unprepared for the hardships caused by the storm.
this Snow Storm is the strongest one over 60 years.
A powerful winter storm sweeping the eastern Mediterranean this week is causing mayhem across the region and inflicting extra misery on Syrians convulsed in civil war and refugees who have fled the fighting.
The storm, named Alexa, is expected to last until Saturday, bringing more snow, rain and freezing temperatures to large swaths of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The bad weather, which began on Wednesday, is taking a disproportionate toll on the 2.2 million refugees living outside Syria and the 6.5 million people displaced within the country.
Biting cold and heavy rain beset Zaatari camp, which houses 80,000 of Jordan's more than half a million Syrian refugees.
Among them was Khalil Atma from Sanameen in southern Syria who was shivering with her two daughters in a flooded, unheated trailer. "We have come from one tragedy to another," she said.
Aid agencies say they are working around the clock to evacuate refugees from flooded camps and distribute food, supplies and clothing, but cannot keep up with demand.
"These people need much more in terms of preparations for winter and organizations are doing their best, but winter conditions are harsh," said Saba Mobaslat, country director of Save the Children International, which operates in Zaatari.
In Lebanon, more than 835,000 Syrians live in tents, unused buildings or with friends or family. UNICEF said needs were outpacing what it and its partners could provide.
In Turkey, authorities distributed extra blankets and winter clothes to many of the 206,000 Syrian refugees at camps along the border, said Mustafa Aydogdu, spokesman for the prime minister's disaster relief agency AFAD.
Refugees sheltering in 16 tent cities and six container camps were also given oil-generated heating lamps to reduce the risk of fire, Aydogdu said. Snow removal and firefighting teams have been established at the camps.
The Middle East was hit with its heaviest snow storms in 60 years yesterday, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Syria and forcing Israel to allow emergency aid into Gaza.
The storm, named Alexa, extended from Turkey to Egypt, with parts of Cairo reportedly experiencing their first recorded snowfall for years.
Several inches of snow fell in the Sinai Peninsual, usually an arid desert region, while authorities were forced to close the port in the coastal city of Alexandria -- which saw relatively light snowfall -- after a third consecutive day of bad weather and high winds.
In Lebanon's Bekaa Valley -- where there are an estimated one million Syrian refugees are crowded into 250 camps -- relief agencies handed out warm clothing, blankets, bedding, heating equipment in refugee camps as snow fell relentlessly for the second day running.
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