You saw it..................................... the poop is gettin deep.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................UMM NASER, Gaza - A wave of sewage swept through a Palestinian village yesterday, killing five people and forcing people and livestock to flee.

Ziad Abu Farya, head of the village council, described the scene as “our tsunami.”

The river of waste spewed forth when an earthen embankment around a sewage reservoir collapsed. A local Palestinian official blamed the disaster on shoddy infrastructure. United Nations officials said they had been warning of a catastrophe for more than two years.

Emergency workers poled between the houses on flat-bottomed boats and chickens fled their coops to perch high on power lines. The stench of sewage mixed with mud and dead animals filled the air, causing people to cover their mouths. Two elderly women, two toddlers and a teenage girl died in the sudden flood, and 25 people were injured. At least 25 houses were completely submerged. Fadel Kawash, of the Palestinian Water Authority, said that the level of sewage in the pool had increased over the past few days, creeping up the embankments until one collapsed, “causing the sewage to pour toward the village.”

“We lost everything. Everything was covered by the flood. It’s a disaster,” said Amina Afif, 65, whose small shack was destroyed.

The Israeli army offered humanitarian assistance to help clean up the spill. There was no word on whether the offer had been accepted.