GENEVA — The number of Syrians fleeing to neighboring countries for safety and aid is likely to exceed 700,000 by the end of the year, according to the United Nations and humanitarian agencies that are struggling to keep pace with the surge in numbers in recent weeks.
More than half a million people have already fled the civil war in Syria and made their way to surrounding countries, the United Nations’ refugee agency estimates, but only 294,000 have registered as refugees or are waiting to do so.
If the present trend continues, the number of registered refugees is likely to more than double, to 710,000 by the end of the year, Panos Moumtzis, the agency’s regional coordinator for Syrian refugees said Thursday.
Three-quarters of the arrivals are women and children. Many arrive with only the clothes on their backs and are traumatized by their experiences, he added.
“This is not business as usual," Moumtzis said.
He announced the estimates as he started an appeal for $488 million to finance international relief efforts, which he acknowledged have been overwhelmed by the speed and scale of the refugee flow.
With the approach of winter, Moumtzis said, “We are running out of time, and we need the funding urgently."
The flow of Syrian refugees has repeatedly overrun U.N. estimates. In March, when there were 41,500 registered in neighboring Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, it planned for the number to reach 98,000 by the end of the year and appealed for $84 million to meet their needs.
Within three months the count had soared to 185,000 and the United Nations was asking for $193 million. Now with security deteriorating further in Syria, refugees are fleeing the country at a rate of 2,000 to 3,000 a day.
So far, though, the appeal for donations has raised only $141 million, less than one-third of what humanitarian agencies calculate they now need through to the end of the year, Moumtzis said.