Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received a phone call on December 17 from his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in which the latter expressed his government’s readiness to help the Region cope with flash floods in Erbil that killed a dozen people, Rudaw reports.
In the early hours of December 17, floods killed 12 people in several neighborhoods of Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan Region, according to Governor Omed Khoshnaw, who told reporters later in the day that they would assess the losses on Saturday.
Kadhimi told Barzani in the phone call that “the central government will take all necessary measures to help the Region’s institutions respond to the recent wave of floods,” read a tweet from the Iraqi premiere.
Visiting the damage caused by last night’s floods, I assured our citizens of our full support.
More heavy rain is expected in Erbil and other areas. I urge Kurdistanis to stay safe while first responders carry out relief efforts. pic.twitter.com/UmoFQRVvNS
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) December 17, 2021
Barzani, who visited several affected areas and led an urgent meeting with local officials, told reporters that one of the reasons behind Friday’s floods in the city was the bad sewage system in these areas. He said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will do everything it can to help the victims of the flooding and compensate them.
Governor Khoshnaw said in a press conference that the dead body of a child remains missing, adding that the casualties include two Arabs, a Yazidi man, a Turkish citizen and two Nepalese.
This is the second wave of flooding in Erbil city this year, with the first one in late October mostly causing material damage. Bad sewage system was blamed for this flooding as well, and the investor who built an affected neighbourhood was jailed for allegedly changing the direction of the sewage.
Daratu, Roshinbiri, Zhyan, Bahrka and Shamamk were among the most affected areas in Friday’s flash floods.
Erbil suffers from an inadequate water supply distribution network and an unsustainable drainage system. Sewers often overflow, leading to sewage escaping and mixing with stormwater.
Death toll rises to 11 in Erbil floods, new wave of rain to hit the Region
The death toll from the devastating floods in Erbi has risen to 11, an official told Rudaw on Friday as another wave of heavy rain threatens the city’s outskirts and its fragile sewage system.
A heavy rainstorm hit the Kurdish capital in the early hours of Friday, causing significant flooding, material damage, and the loss of lives in several districts and neighborhoods.
Erbil Mayor Nabaz Abdulhamid raised the number of deaths from eight to eleven, noting that a Turkish national and a Filipino were among the fatalities.
Abdulhamid did not disclose further details about the victims, saying “their names and identities will be announced later.”
Muddy waters swept into people’s homes in Erbil’s Daratu, Qushtapa, Shamamk, Zhyan, Roshinbiri and Bahrka areas in the early hours of the morning, flooding individuals out of their houses.
Daratu and Qushtapa districts are the most affected areas by the flooding, according to the mayor.
Three women from the same family died in Daratu when the heavy water covered around two meters of their house.
The body of the ten-month-old infant Danar Nabaz in Qushtapa remains missing. His father told Rudaw earlier that Danar fell from his arms as he was trying to help his three other children.
Houses, cars, shops, and markets in both districts were harshly hit in the flood, but final statistics on the damages have not yet been released.
Erbil suffers from an inadequate water supply distribution network and an unsustainable drainage system. Sewers often overflow, leading to sewage escaping and mixing with stormwater.
The amount of rain that fell in the city was described as “unexpected” by officials and residents.
Fifty-nine millimeters of rain have fallen in Erbil overnight, Head of the Region’s General Directorate of Meteorology and Seismology Fazel Ebrahim told Rudaw.
The directorate on Friday noon warned of another wave of rain that is expected to hit Koya town and its outskirts in the northeast of Erbil as well as Garmiyan administration.
The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani tweeted on Friday that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of lives and damage caused by last night’s heavy rain and flood,” and has instructed government agencies to provide immediate support and relief to areas affected.
On December 17 afternoon, Barzani chaired a meeting with Erbil officials and local agencies to discuss the “government’s rescue efforts and relief needs,” he said in a tweet.
Erbil province often faces severe floods in the colder seasons of the year. Nearly 600 houses suffered material damage and stalling vehicles blocked flooded main roads in its first strong rainfall of the year in late October.
In the past years, several neighborhoods of Erbil have faced severe damages due to floods.
President Barzani dedicates $685,000 to help people affected by Erbil floods
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani allocated one billion Iraqi dinars ($685,000) to those people who were affected by the deadly floods in Erbil on December 17. The money will be spent through the Rwanga Foundation, according to a statement from the organization.
The money will be spent on providing food and house equipment to people who were affected by the flooding, the Rwanga Foundation said in its statement, adding that they will also start “cleaning the houses, roads, and affected neighborhoods.”
“The mentioned support will start on December 18, 2021, and continue until the families return to their homes. It is worth mentioning that the process of support will be carried out in coordination with the Erbil governorate and Barzani Charity Foundation,” read the statement.
In the early hours of Friday, floods killed 12 people in several neighborhoods of Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan Region, according to Governor Omed Khoshnaw, who told reporters later in the day that they would assess the losses on Saturday.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received a phone call from his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in which the latter expressed his government’s readiness to help the Region cope with flash floods in Erbil that killed a dozen people.
This is the second wave of flooding in Erbil city this year, with the first one in late October mostly causing material damage. Bad sewage system was blamed for this flooding as well, and the investor who built an affected neighbourhood was jailed for allegedly changing the direction of the sewage.
***
The body of a teenager was located in the town of Takiya, Sulaimani province on Saturday, eight hours after he disappeared during the flooding, a local official confirmed to Rudaw.
“Ramiyar Bakhtyar, 18, drowned in the flooding in the village of Kalawa. His dead body was discovered today,” Ibrahim Ahmed, the mayor of Takiya, told Rudaw, noting the body had been washed away in the flooding.
A heavy rainstorm hit the Kurdistan Region, causing massive flooding in the early hours of Friday. Twelve people were killed in Erbil.
Ahmed said that the death of the teenager is the only known casualty of the flash flood.
The Kurdistan Region has seen a wave of deadly and destructive floods, with the capital Erbil bearing the brunt of the heavy rainstorms
Houses, cars, shops, and markets across several neighborhoods and districts in Erbil were badly damaged in the flood on Friday, but the full extent of the wreckage has not been announced yet.
This year’s rainstorms come after the Region saw a summer of drought.
More heavy rain is expected in the coming days, according to the Region’s meteorology department.
Iraqi PM offers help in responding to Erbil’s deadly flooding
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received a phone call on December 17 from his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in which the latter expressed his government’s readiness to help the Region cope with flash floods in Erbil that killed a dozen people, Rudaw reports.
In the early hours of Friday, floods killed 12 people in several neighborhoods of Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan Region, according to Governor Omed Khoshnaw, who told reporters later in the day that they would assess the losses on Saturday.
Kadhimi told Barzani in the phone call that “the central government will take all necessary measures to help the Region’s institutions respond to the recent wave of floods,” read a tweet from the Iraqi premiere.
Barzani, who visited several affected areas and led an urgent meeting with local officials, told reporters that one of the reasons behind Friday’s floods in the city was the bad sewage system in these areas. He said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will do everything it can to help the victims of the flooding and compensate them.
Governor Khoshnaw said in a press conference that the dead body of a child remains missing, adding that the casualties include two Arabs, a Yazidi man, a Turkish citizen and two Nepalese.
This is the second wave of flooding in Erbil city this year, with the first one in late October mostly causing material damage. Bad sewage system was blamed for this flooding as well, and the investor who built an affected neighbourhood was jailed for allegedly changing the direction of the sewage.
Daratu, Roshinbiri, Zhyan, Bahrka and Shamamk were among the most affected areas in Friday’s flash floods.
Erbil suffers from an inadequate water supply distribution network and an unsustainable drainage system. Sewers often overflow, leading to sewage escaping and mixing with stormwater.
