ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Flash floods triggered by torrential rain killed a 28-year-old volunteer bulldozer operator and a five-year-old child in Erbil on Saturday, as floodwaters swept away vehicles, inundated homes and disrupted traffic across several areas of the Kurdistan Region.
"Unfortunately, there are casualties," Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said in a statement on Saturday evening.
According to preliminary information provided by Khoshnaw, a 28-year-old bulldozer operator was swept away by floodwaters in Erbil's Seberdan neighborhood and lost his life. The man had volunteered alongside emergency response teams, using his own machinery to help residents affected by the flooding.
Khoshnaw also reported that a five-year-old child who had been travelling in a car with their father was missing after the vehicle was caught in the floodwaters. The father managed to escape, but the child went missing in the floodwaters. The child's uncle later confirmed to Rudaw that the child's body had been found.
The governor urged residents to stay away from affected areas and allow emergency personnel to carry out their work.
"Please, let citizens return to their homes and allow the teams to do their work, because people have become an obstacle in front of the emergency teams," he told Rudaw's Soiln Mohammedamin.
Erbil Civil Defense spokesperson Shakhawan Saeed earlier told Rudaw that floodwaters had caused material damage to homes and trapped a child, who was later rescued safely. "Water has accumulated in most places and traffic disruptions have occurred," he said.
The General Directorate of Civil Defense issued safety instructions for thunderstorms, advising residents to seek shelter inside enclosed buildings immediately upon hearing thunder. It also warned people to stay away from windows, doors, trees, open structures, sports fields and water basins.
The severe weather also prompted the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) ministries of education and higher education to announce on Saturday that local provinces, independent administrations, and public and private universities could suspend classes as necessary to protect students, teachers and staff.
Erbil Governor Khoshnaw and Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir subsequently declared Sunday an official holiday for all educational centers. Kirkuk announced a similar holiday.
The severe weather is being driven by a low-pressure system extending from the Mediterranean Sea across the Region, according to the Kurdistan Region's General Directorate of Meteorology and Seismology. The directorate previously forecast that "Saturday will see the longest period of precipitation, accompanied by active thunderstorms, increased wind speeds, and rising water levels."
According to the directorate, rain is expected to continue across most areas on Sunday, particularly in Sulaimani, Halabja and Garmiyan, before easing on Monday as temperatures fall further.
"Since yesterday [Friday], all of our teams across nine directorates have been on standby. All personnel who were at home and on leave have been called back to work, and we have deployed all of our machinery and equipment, because a wave of heavy rainfall is sweeping across Kurdistan over these few days," Kurdistan Region Civil Defense spokesperson Sarkawt Karash told Rudaw on Saturday.
Karash urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, warning that "In some places, there is a risk of water accumulation, so we call on citizens not to commute, to stay in their homes, and not to go outside." He identified Sulaimani, Chamchamal and the Soran Independent Administration as areas facing particularly heavy rainfall.
Last year, flash floods caused by days of heavy rainfall killed five people, injured 19 and damaged 2,225 homes across the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk province, according to the KRG's Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC).
Last updated at 12:16 am, November 8.
