The flood of Syrian refugees into Jordan is straining the limited resources of both the Jordanian government and aid agencies, The New York Times reported Thursday, October 11. Jordan has witnessed waves of refugees in the past, but this one is particularly dire. The latest estimates by the United Nations put the number of Syrian refugees at more than 300,000 in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, up threefold from estimates in July, and the number of refugees outside Syria could reach 700,000 by the end of the year, according to U.N. projections. Although aid agencies say they are trying to steer funds to poor Jordanians, foreign assistance is only slowly trickling in, leaving many in need. The U.N. aid agencies and others have issued a funding appeal for nearly $500 million for the region.