Tulkarem – Ma’an - Tulkarem's Thabit Thabit hospital in the northern West Bank is operating at only 80% capacity after floods knocked out access to several areas of the building, General Director of hospitals in the Palestinian ministry of health Na’im Sabra Friday.

The first day of sustained heavy rains overwhelmed the sewer systems and rain rolled off dry hills as parched ground was unable to absorb the downpour. Floods in the hospital caused a temporary work shortage as workers rushed to stopper leaks and bail out emergency rooms.

Sabra said hospitals in Qalqiliya, Salfit, Jenin, and Nablus were notified that until the emergency is cleared, they would receive non-urgent cases for treatment. The hospital said it was set to receive only maternity patients for the rest of the day, as their intensive care, surgery, and ex-ray wards were under water.

Hospital staff unplugged and moved delicate and expensive equipment in an effort to keep it out of the flood zone.

The municipality of Tulkarem declared a state of alert as streets swell with rain water and puddles grow to pools at street corners. Residents and farmers alike were reporting flooding, and Palestinian Authority Civil Defense teams are on standby, and had already evacuated several homes by Friday afternoon.

Separation wall harms drainage

Israel's separation wall caused additional problems Friday, as the heavy rains rolled down Tulkarem-area hills and stopped short at the base of the eight-meter concrete wall that surrounds the municipality on three sides. The first year the wall was constructed fall rains pooled so substantially around the wall that entire homes were engulfed in floodwaters and crops were destroyed.

Though small drainage areas were later added to the wall, the structure continues to disrupt natural drainage patterns.

Farmer Fayez At-Tneib said his land turned to mud as water pooled against the wall's base, uphill from the valley separating the agricultural land from the nearby settlement.