News Alert: Severe Flooding Ravages Idlib, Syria

Heavy winter rains are falling across Idlib, Syria, washing away tents and damaging shelters of displaced people. 

Max Baldwin, Northwest Syria Area Director for Mercy Corps says:

“Our teams and community partners are slogging through cold mud, helping people salvage what they can and providing essential supplies. The slow and steady uptick in violence through the autumn has forced families across Idlib to flee and return repeatedly with no abatement. There is no fixed, permanent safe place for those in this region. The winter rains and cold on top of all they’ve lost makes every aspect of life harder.”

“While the next three months for people in the US and UK will be marked by shelter in place and lockdowns, winter in northwest Syria will likely be one of near-constant movement and a slow erosion of families' already-limited resources.”

 
Since March 2020, Mercy Corps’ Syria team has reached more than 930,000 people across Northwest Syria with urgently needed life-saving and life-sustaining support (including food, protection, shelter, clean water and hygiene supplies).

Mercy Corps expanded programming due to COVID-19, increasing quantities of water, soap, towels and other hygiene supplies. Syria is one of several countries in the region near the peak of its infection curve, with high levels of cases and limited testing available in non-government held areas. In Northwest Syria, the fatality rate is likely higher than reported as doctors cannot determine if some deaths occurring in homes are due to the disease.