Dozens of Palestinian refugees families sheltered in the Rashidieh displacement camp, south of Lebanon, have sounded distress signals following the weather storm that rocked the region.

Heavy rainshowers swamped the refugees’ homes across residential neighborhoods. A ravaged sewerage network has made the situation deeply concerning.

Palestinian refugee Samiah Ahmad told Quds press that the heavy rains have caused severe damage and immense suffering due to accumulated garbage piles and poor sewerage network, resulting in unbearable smells.

Palestinian refugee Khaled Reyouf said he has stayed up all night to take the water out of his house.

The Rashidieh Refugee Camp is located on the coast, five kilometres south of the city of Tyre. Rashidieh was heavily affected during the Lebanese civil war, especially between 1982 and 1987. More than 600 shelters were totally or partially destroyed and more than 5,000 Palestine refugees were displaced. Remaining shelters need serious rehabilitation.

Rashidieh camp is divided into ‘old’ and ‘new’ sections. The older part was built by the French government in 1936 to accommodate Armenian refugees who fled to Lebanon. The ‘new camp’ was built by UNRWA in 1963 to accommodate Palestine refugees who came from Deir al-Qassi, Alma, Suhmata, Nahaf, Fara and other villages in Palestine and who were relocated from El Buss refugee camp and Baalbeck by the Lebanese government. The ongoing Syria crisis has also led to an influx of Syrian and Palestine refugees displaced from Syria into the camp.