Heavy Rains Cause Widespread Flooding, Power Cuts in Gaza

Heavy rains caused widespread flooding in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, placing further strain on run-down infrastructure and power supplies in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

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Rescue services used paddle boards to evacuate residents from a dozen flooded homes. Pools formed on main roads due to the poor drainage network.

Some 1.8 million people live in the coastal enclave, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Hamas said dozens of chickens had died in Gaza farms. At one chicken coop, workers waded through waist-high water to retrieve dead birds and eggs.

Frequent power cuts and gas shortages have worsened due to the inclement weather, and some residents are burning wood to keep warm.

Mahmoud al-Shawa of the gas distributors' union says not enough gas is entering the territory.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza when Hamas seized the territory from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007.