When Even the Tents Flood: Where Can Gaza's Families Go Now?

My Little Everything | 9 November 2026

Imagine losing your home, your family, your belongings, your security, and almost everything you have ever known. Then imagine finding yourself living in a tent, only for the rain to come and flood the one small space you have left.

Where do you go when you have nowhere else to go? That is the heartbreaking question facing thousands of displaced families in Gaza.

When One Disaster Follows Another

I have just recently experienced a flood myself, and I have witnessed firsthand the devastation that flooding can cause. Water damages so much more than possessions. It disrupts your everyday life, destroys things you have worked hard for, and leaves you facing uncertainty about how to recover. I keep thinking about the families in Gaza. While I know something of the damage a flood can cause, I cannot begin to imagine experiencing it after years of oppression, bombing, killings, loss and repeated displacement. These families have already endured extraordinary hardship. Many have lost their homes, loved ones, livelihoods and communities. Now, as winter approaches, even the tents they have been forced to live in are being flooded.How much more are these families expected to endure?

Thousands of Families Have Lost Even Their Temporary Shelter

Heavy rain and strong winds swept through Gaza beginning on 6 November 2026.

According to the United Nations report published on 9 November:

• More than 26,000 households reported damage to their shelters or belongings.

• Over 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed.

• More than 3,900 households were reported to have no shelter.

• Approximately 1.4 million people were living in tents or makeshift accommodation.

Behind these numbers are mothers, fathers, grandparents and children. Children with wet clothes and nowhere warm to sleep. Parents trying desperately to protect their families. People who have already lost so much, watching the rain destroy what little remains. Tragically, the storms have also cost lives. In central Gaza, a rain-soaked sandy embankment collapsed onto tents sheltering displaced families killing a woman and four children. These are human lives. They cannot simply become another statistic.

But Where Will They Go?

This is the question that troubles me most. If your home is destroyed, you might hope to find shelter elsewhere. But what happens when almost everywhere around you has been damaged, destroyed, overcrowded or made unsafe? Humanitarian workers are trying to help families relocate from dangerous areas, particularly places near the shoreline that are vulnerable to flooding. Other teams are working to strengthen existing camps, improve drainage, distribute emergency shelter materials and remove accumulated water. There is no confirmed safe accommodation for every family who needs somewhere to go. Some families have been displaced yet again. The United Nations reports that more than 150,000 tents purchased for humanitarian relief were waiting outside Gaza when the storms struck. Those tents, together with essential equipment, desperately need to reach the people who need them. Temporary tents alone cannot be the long-term answer. People need proper protection from the weather, functioning sanitation, secure shelter and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

They need homes, not an endless cycle of displacement.

Is Another Storm Coming?

Although the forecast for 10–15 November currently indicates mostly dry weather, humanitarian organisations are warning that further winter storms are expected in the coming months. The Norwegian Refugee Council reports that approximately 950,000 people are living in areas at medium or high risk of flooding. That means this disaster may not be the last. Families need help preparing for the next rainfall before it arrives. They need waterproof shelter, stronger structures, dry mattresses, blankets, winter clothing, drainage systems and emergency equipment. Waiting until the next storm hits is not enough.

Who Is Helping Gaza's Families Right Now?

There are humanitarian organisations already working inside Gaza, alongside Palestinian aid workers, volunteers, emergency services and local communities.

Their work deserves our support. Here are some organisations you can donate to directly.

1. Islamic Relief — Winter Emergency Assistance

Donate: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/giving/appeals/palestine/gaza/

Islamic Relief confirmed on 9 November 2026 that it has launched a winter appeal in response to the dangerous conditions facing displaced families.

Its teams and local partners in Gaza are providing essential humanitarian assistance.

Islamic Relief reports that its wider Gaza response has distributed warm clothing, blankets, mattresses and makeshift tents to tens of thousands of families, as well as hygiene supplies, food assistance and other support.

Its winter appeal is intended to help families facing cold, rain and unsafe shelter conditions.

2. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) — Emergency Shelter

Donate: https://support.nrc.no/gaza/

The Norwegian Refugee Council is supporting displaced families in Gaza with emergency shelter materials, tents, mattresses, hygiene supplies and clean water.

It also works with humanitarian partners to improve conditions at displacement sites.

NRC plays a leading role in coordinating shelter assistance in Gaza.

Its Gaza emergency appeal supports humanitarian assistance according to needs on the ground, including shelter.

3. Palestine Red Crescent Society — Local Emergency Response

Donate: https://www.palestinercs.org/en/donation

The Palestine Red Crescent Society is a Palestinian humanitarian organisation providing emergency medical assistance and relief services.

Its emergency-response work includes supporting people affected by disasters, distributing tents, tarpaulins, food packages and hygiene supplies, and providing healthcare through emergency and mobile services.

Its local presence and emergency-response experience are especially important when families are facing dangerous conditions.

4. Save the Children — Protecting Children and Families

Learn more and donate: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/west-bank-gaza

Save the Children is responding to the humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinian children.

On 8 November 2026, it warned that more than half a million children in Gaza face the winter without adequate shelter.

Its wider humanitarian work includes emergency supplies, financial assistance, health services, child protection and support for families.

Helping children survive the winter also means helping their families access safe shelter, warmth and essential supplies.

These organisations are involved in humanitarian operations in Gaza. Their donation appeals may support wider emergency programmes rather than exclusively the November flooding. Exact delivery activities and access can change.

Why Can't More Supplies Reach Them?

Humanitarian organisations have reported serious difficulties bringing sufficient materials and equipment into Gaza. According to the United Nations, restrictions on the entry of supplies, shortages of funding and damaged infrastructure are limiting the emergency response. Organisations urgently need access to shelter materials, drainage pumps, heavy machinery and other essential equipment. This matters because a donation can support vital work, but humanitarian workers also need the means to get aid safely to families. The people affected need more than sympathy. They need practical assistance and safe humanitarian access.

How We Can Help

It can feel overwhelming to see so much suffering, especially when we are far away, but we are not powerless. We can donate to established humanitarian organisations, we can share verified emergency appeals. We can encourage our communities, workplaces, friends and families to contribute. We can support calls for humanitarian supplies, emergency equipment and safe shelter materials to reach civilians who urgently need them. Even a small act of kindness can contribute to a much greater collective effort.

They Deserve Somewhere Safe to Sleep

Experiencing a flood has made me think deeply about how quickly life can change, about the value of safety, the importance of having somewhere dry to sleep, about how much we depend on the people around us when disaster strikes. The families of Gaza have already experienced suffering that no human being should have to endure. They should not have to face another winter watching their tents fill with water. No mother should have to hold her child through the night wondering how to keep them warm. No father should have to stand helplessly as his family's remaining possessions are washed away. No child should have to grow up believing that safety is something they can only dream about.

They deserve dignity. They deserve protection. They deserve a home.

Please, if you can donate, do so through one of the organisations above. If you cannot donate, please share their appeals. Let us not wait for another storm before we remember the families who are still trying to survive the last one. The rain may be beyond our control. Our compassion and our actions are not.

With love, compassion and humanity,

My Little Everything 

Sources

United Nations OCHA — Humanitarian Situation Report: Heavy Rains in the Gaza Strip, 9 November 2026
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-heavy-rains-gaza-strip-8-november-2026

Islamic Relief — Winter Floods Put Thousands of Lives in Gaza at Risk, 9 November 2026
https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/winter-floods-put-thousands-of-lives-in-gaza-at-risk/

Save the Children — Gaza Floods Leave Over Half a Million Children Without Safe Shelter, 8 November 2026
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2026-press-releases/gaza-floods-half-a-million-children-without-safe-shelter

Norwegian Refugee Council — Gaza: Restrictions on Winter Shelter Materials, 5 October 2026
https://www.nrc.no/news/2026/gaza-israeli-restrictions-mean-entry-of-winter-shelter-materials-will-take-over-seven-months