Iraq: Eleven killed in flash floods in autonomous Kurdish region
Eleven people have died following flash floods on Friday in northern Iraq caused by torrential rains in Erbil, capital of the country's autonomous Kurdish region.
"The death toll now stands at 11, after the discovery by the civil defence of three bodies of missing persons, including a Filipino national and a Turk, washed away," local administrative manager Nabaz Abdelhamid told AFP, following earlier reports of eight deaths.
In a country dealing with severe drought, many were caught by surprise and drowned as powerful storm waters began surging into their homes before dawn.
"The floods began at 4am," said Provincial Governor Omid Khoshnaw, adding that there had been "significant" damage, especially in a working-class district in the east of Erbil.
Khoshnaw said the dead included women and children and that four members of the civil defence team who came to help residents were injured when their car was washed away.
Of the original eight people reported dead, civil defence spokesperson Sarkawt Karach said "one died struck by lightning, while the others drowned in their homes".
Many people have been forced to leave their homes, he added.
"Searches are ongoing for missing people," Karach said, warning that the death toll could still rise.
Further rain expected
An AFP reporter in Erbil saw torrents of muddy water pouring down roads. Buses, trucks and tankers were washed away by the storm waters, with some toppled onto their side.
Khoshnaw called on residents to stay at home unless necessary, warning that further rain was expected with fears of more flooding.
Iraq has been hit by a succession of extreme weather events.
It has endured blistering temperatures and repeated droughts in recent years, but has also experienced intense floods - made worse when torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth.
Hard ground, compounded by vegetation loss, means the earth does not absorb water as quickly, and when storms hit, they can become flash floods.
Scientists say climate change amplifies extreme weather, including droughts as well as the potential for the increased intensity of rain storms.
Record low rainfall
Experts have warned that record low rainfall, compounded by climate change, are threatening social and economic disaster in war-scarred Iraq.
The effects of low rainfall have been exacerbated by falling water levels on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as a result of dam-building in neighbouring Turkey and Iran, Samah Hadid of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has said.
The severity of the drought has forced many farming families to leave their land and seek a living in urban areas.
In a study released on Thursday, the NRC said half of the families living in drought-affected areas of Iraq need humanitarian food aid.
That followed a warning in November from the World Bank which said Iraq could suffer a 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050 due to climate change.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
