A damage assessment report prepared by the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) revealed the total destruction of 33,400 homes in Daraa Governorate, out of a total of more than 95,000 homes and residential units damaged by previous military campaigns.
The damage also included more than 55 bakeries and ovens, in addition to vital sectors, infrastructure, and service facilities, while the Daraa Municipal Council works on removing the rubble of destroyed buildings in areas of the city, amidst technical and legal challenges hindering removal operations.
Plan to remove rubble of destroyed buildings
Engineer Issam Al-Zoubi, head of the technical department in the Municipal Council, clarified that the Directorate of Emergency and Disasters in the governorate continues to carry out the removal of rubble from completely destroyed buildings, especially in the Daraa Al-Balad area and the commercial market in the city, where quantities of debris still occupy the sites of several destroyed buildings.
Al-Zoubi pointed out that rubble removal operations will be implemented within the contract designated for this purpose, which will contribute to clearing debris from targeted sites.
Lack of machinery and legal procedures slow down removal
The head of the technical department explained that the lack of machinery and resources allocated for rubble removal is among the most prominent obstacles facing the municipality, in addition to the multiplicity of legal procedures and the need to form committees to inventory properties and determine rights holders, which slows down implementation.
He noted that the municipality has issued decisions to remove a number of dangerous buildings, but their implementation requires completing the procedures for inventorying owners and notifying them through approved channels, and verifying ownership and rights associated with these properties, to ensure the preservation of the rights of their owners and tenants.
He pointed out that cracked and uninhabitable buildings pose a danger to public safety, and a committee for cracked buildings studies their status and takes necessary removal decisions, with owners being notified and granted the legal deadline to carry out the demolition.
He explained that if owners fail to comply with removing dangerous buildings within the specified deadline, the municipality will carry out the removal at its own expense according to established procedures.
Damage assessment paving the way for reconstruction
The Ministry of Local Administration and Environment had begun last February, in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, to issue reports assessing the damage caused by the war in Syrian governorates, relying on field surveys conducted by specialized technical committees, covering sectors of housing, education, health, infrastructure, service facilities, and religious sites.
The ministry emphasized that these reports constitute an official reference for determining developmental needs and formulating reconstruction plans, and directing the efforts of local authorities and international organizations towards the most damaged areas and sectors.
The ministry had begun in January 2025 conducting initial surveys of damaged areas in several governorates, with the aim of creating a database to help formulate reconstruction plans and determine intervention priorities.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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