A snowstorm affecting millions of Syrians for the past week has crippled the country’s already struggling refugee camps.

The UN has increased its effort as Syrian refugees living in unheated tents in camps across the Middle East battle freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall, rain and strong winds.

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The storm has already killed at least two including a seven-year-old Syrian boy and a 10-year-old girl from Homs, Syria.

Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, home to tens of thousands of refugees has been hit particularly hard, with electricity being cut off and roads blocked by the snow.

In Jordan’s largest refugee camp, Za’atari, where nearly 85,000 Syrians live, tents have been collapsing under the weight of the snow, the UN reported.

The United Nations’ refugee body has been replacing damaged tents, distributing cash and fuel, delivering emergency supplies and offering alternative shelters.

As the snow begins to melt, the water is creating floods in the region.

“We are worried that tents will be flooded. Refugees who don’t have proper access to clean water or can’t store drinking water will be in severe difficulties if we don’t reach them in the next two days,” Lauriane Gauny from Oxfam told Reuters.

The UN estimates that more than three million Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

The storm has swept across the Middle East from Lebanon to Israel and Palestine.

Palestinian authorities in Gaza and the West Bank have declared a state of emergency after coastal areas were evacuated.

Heavy snowfall in Israel has also wrecked havoc in Jerusalem with schools closing as they battle to clear the snow.