5.3 Million may be homeless in Syria after devastating earthquake: UNHCR
As many as 5.3 million people in Syria may have been left homeless by the earthquake,” the Syria representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sivanka Dhanapala, told a press briefing. “We are also leading in the protection sector here. Throughout Syria, we have a network of community centres, satellite centres, outreach volunteers, and this helps us reach vulnerable populations. We’ve set up hotlines for all sorts of protection-related issues, which we use,” he added. Roads have been damaged due to earthquake and that is hampering humanitarian access to the affected people. He said the UN estimated that 5.37 million people affected by the quake would need shelter assistance across the country. The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency has been rushing aid to the badly impacted parts of the country. The agency’s key focus is on shelter and relief items, ensuring that collective centers the displaced have gone to have adequate facilities, as well as tents, plastic sheeting, thermal blankets, sleeping mats, winter clothing and so on. He pointed out that the most vulnerable among the affected are the elderly, those with disabilities, and some children who’ve been separated from their parents.