Flooding in Erbil on February 15, 2024. Photo: Bilinf T. Abdullah
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Erbil city on Thursday, submerging around 40 vehicles as well as damaging several houses.
The Kurdistan Region has witnessed a wave of torrential rain since Wednesday afternoon. Local authorities in Garmiyan and Raparin administrations declared a public holiday on Thursday due to the rain.
Heavy rain caused material damage in Erbil on Thursday, with Erbil Defense Directorate’s spokesperson announcing that around 40 vehicles were submerged.
"We have been providing instructions to people for days but people, with due respect, rarely follow instructions," spokesperson of the Erbil Defense Directorate Karwan Mirawdali told Rudaw.
"I just came from Shoresh [neighbourhood] where we extracted more than 16 vehicles [from the water]. Some people walk in the middle of the water. There has not been any significant damage but some vehicles were stuck under Saidawa bridge. No human losses have been reported so far," he added.
Some houses were also flooded, leaving many families in despair.
"This is my brother’s life. He is a Peshmerga and has special needs. He lives in a rental house," a woman told Rudaw.
The Kurdistan Region has experienced heavy rainfall this week.
High water levels and flash floods during the rainy season in fall and winter are a common and at times deadly occurrence in the Region.
Erbil’s governor claimed that the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) measures have minimised the impact of heavy rains in Erbil.
"As we previously stated, around 40 billion dinars have been spent in the last two years to minimise the threat [of flooding] in Erbil. Such cases [today’s flooding] are normal. Yesterday, from 1 to 7 pm around 20 mm of rain fell in Erbil," Omed Khoshnaw told reporters.
"[Today] the same level was recorded. It also rained in most of Mosul, causing flooding in most of its neighborhoods but yesterday’s rain did not cause flooding here - thanks to the measures taken and the projects undertaken by the government," he added.
Floods are a common natural calamity in Erbil, at times resulting in death and destruction. In late 2021 and early 2022, Erbil bore the brunt of heavy rainstorms that hit the Region, causing flooding affecting at least 826 families in the Kurdish capital. Twelve people were killed, including a ten-month-old baby. The Ministry of Municipality and Tourism at the time assessed that the damages amounted to more than 21 billion dinars (over $14 million).
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