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In December 2025, severe winter storms, including Storm Byron, brought heavy rainfall, strong winds, and flooding across Gaza. The storms hit an already fragile shelter situation, with over a million people displaced and living in makeshift sites, damaged buildings, tents, and overcrowded shelters, many of which are in coastal areas repeatedly exposed to water inundation.
Impact:
While the overall shelter gap was expected to decrease due to sustained response efforts and relatively improved entry of shelter items, recent rainstorms have significantly reversed these gains. An additional 65,000 households were affected, increasing overall needs; the Shelter Cluster estimates that more than one million people continue to require urgent emergency shelter assistance.
Storm impacts included tents being blown away, tearing of fabric and seam failures, and structural collapse under combined wind and water loads. In several areas, entire shelter sites were completely flooded due to inadequate drainage and low-lying terrain, while sub-standard or non-weatherproof tents became saturated, rendering them uninhabitable. As a result of shelter damage, essential non-food items (NFIs) stored inside were also exposed to water and wind, leading to partial or total loss.
In response, the Shelter/NFI actors activated emergency measures to prioritize:
* Tent replacement for flood-affected households
* Relocation support from high-risk sites and flooded areas
* NFI distribution, including blankets, winter clothing, and mattresses.