Middle East

Current Key Disasters and Relief Efforts

Natural Disasters: Many countries in the Middle East and Central Asia have been experiencing a severe drought that has resulted in water shortages, agricultural disruptions, and famines impacting over one million people. Syria has been among the hardest hit countries. Conditions have forced rural populations to relocate to urban areas, resulting in a large displaced population. Needs include food for people and animals, water, and farming inputs such as seeds. The Syrian government, the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Syria Drought Response Plan (SDRP), among others, have provided disaster relief planning and assistance. The drought's impact as well as disaster relief efforts have been adversely affected by the global recession.

Recent storms in the region included Cyclone Gonu, which struck Oman and Iran in June 2007. The Omani city of Muscat was especially hard hit. Gonu was one of the worst cyclones ever to form in the Arabian Sea, and was one of Oman's worst natural disasters. The strong winds and heavy rains forced thousands to abandon their homes and caused significant property damage. In Iran, the military and the national Red Cross society used trucks and helicopters to ensure that food, water, and clothing reached victims in remote villages.

In January 2010, heavy rains and accompanying flash floods destroyed homes and displaced hundreds of people in the Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea ports of Egypt, and in the Palestinian settlements along the Gaza Strip. In Egypt, local governments sent rescue workers to evacuate stranded residents, some by boat, and to establish temporary shelters. The perceived slowness of government relief aid in Sinai resulted in a clash between victims and Egyptian police. Many of the Gaza flood victims were refugees already displaced to tents or living in damaged buildings due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Cold weather following the floods and the death of the livestock, upon which many depend for a living, furthered the need for relief aid.

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