As the rain intensified, 65-year-old Abu Sajed rushed to place buckets and pots strategically around his modest room in central Gaza.
asserted
Sajed → intensify → Gaza
The stone walls and tarpaulin roof offered little protection to his makeshift home, east of Salah al-Din Street, near the “Yellow Line” in Bureij refugee camp.
asserted
walls → offer → camp
“We could no longer stay in bed because of the heavy rain.
uncertain
We → stay → rain
We moved to chairs in the only part of the room the water had not reached and waited for the rain to stop,” said Abu Sajed, who has diabetes.
asserted
who → move → diabetes
He searched for his blood glucose monitor in the darkness.
asserted
He → search → darkness
But it was soaked and no longer working.
asserted
it → soak → ?
His family’s solar power system, used for lighting and charging phones, was also damaged.
asserted
system → use → lighting
Water also flooded his daughter’s neighbouring tent, soaking her clothes and belongings and destroying the inverter connected to her solar system.
asserted
Water → flood → system
“I did not know what to do.
asserted
I → know → what
I could not protect myself or my family.
uncertain
I → protect → myself
Even going to the toilet had become difficult because of all the water,” he said.
asserted
he → go → water
His ordeal continued after the rain stopped.
asserted
rain → continue → ?
The following morning, as he tried to leave the room, his foot slipped on the muddy floor and he fell.
asserted
he → follow → floor
Because of poor health, he could not get up alone.
uncertain
he → get → health
His wife and daughter struggled to lift him.
asserted
wife → struggle → him
“I felt helpless and exhausted,” he said.
asserted
he → feel → ?
Recent rainfall has added to Gaza’s suffering, and due to Israel’s siege, most people lack adequate housing.
But the impact extends beyond flooded shelters and damaged belongings.
asserted
impact → add → shelters
It also threatens the energy sources residents depend on, particularly amid Gaza’s continuing electricity crisis.
asserted
residents → threaten → crisis
In a room inside a damaged building in northern Gaza, Mohammed al-Hour uses sunlight to charge people’s phones through his solar power system.
asserted
Hour → damage → system
But rainwater also seeps through the cracked walls and damaged ceiling of his room.
asserted
rainwater → seep → room
“People come to me asking to charge their phones, even for a little while, so they can have lighting at night.
asserted
they → come → night
But when the clouds persist and the sun disappears, it becomes difficult,” he said.
asserted
he → persist → ?
“Whether you live in a tent or a house, rainwater will find its way in.
asserted
rainwater → live → way
The bombardment has destroyed almost everything.”
asserted
bombardment → destroy → everything
Companies trying to maintain electricity services are struggling with the damage.
asserted
Companies → try → damage
Despite preparations in advance of the winter, Abu Zayed Electricity Company could not prevent water from entering several facilities, damaging equipment and causing generators to malfunction.
uncertain
generators → prevent → equipment
It temporarily suspended services at affected branches over fears of electrical contact and short circuits.
asserted
It → suspend → contact
Aya Shaheen, the company’s general manager, said distribution panels and electricity metres were covered with plastic sheeting and tarpaulins, exposed wires were insulated, and municipalities were asked to pump out accumulated water.
asserted
municipalities → say → water
But the damage exceeded available resources.
asserted
damage → exceed → resources
“However much we try to prepare and protect our equipment, we continue to face major obstacles because of the extensive destruction of infrastructure,” she said.
asserted
she → try → infrastructure
“Municipalities are also dealing with enormous pressure.
asserted
Municipalities → deal → pressure
Flooded tents need urgent intervention, so they cannot respond to every request for assistance.”
asserted
they → need → assistance
Water entered one of the company’s sites, even though its generators are housed in specially equipped prefabricated structures, Shaheen said.
asserted
Shaheen → enter → structures
Restoring services and repairing equipment can take hours or days, depending on the damage.
asserted
Restoring → restore → damage
According to UNICEF, the recent rainfall affected more than 106,000 people.
uncertain
rainfall → accord → people
About 950,000 displaced people live in flood-prone areas, including 400,000 in particularly high-risk locations.
asserted
people → displace → locations
A joint assessment by the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union estimated that 80 percent of electricity generation and distribution assets had been destroyed or rendered inoperable during the war.
asserted
percent → estimate → war
This has severely limited access to reliable electricity, particularly as solar generation declines on cloudy days and equipment becomes vulnerable to water damage.
asserted
equipment → limit → damage
Mohammed Abu Khaled, an engineer specialising in energy systems and equipment used in the health sector, warns that rainwater entering solar systems can damage batteries and inverters, causing short circuits and corrosion of electronic circuits.
asserted
rainwater → specialise → circuits
“The inverter is the weakest link and the component most likely to fail.
asserted
inverter → fail → ?
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
