PHOTOS: Students in Kurdistan town protest post-flood conditions

Students in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani Province gathered on Tuesday to protest their town's inability to deal with recent flooding that has caused substantial damage to local infrastructure.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Students in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani Province gathered on Tuesday to protest their town's inability to deal with recent flooding that has caused substantial damage to local infrastructure.

The youth, enrolled at the Technical College of Darbandikhan, began their demonstration two days after a recent bout of torrential rainfall led to major floods throughout the region.

According to the students, the recent damage to roads, many which are now covered in muddy water, has made travel to and from school unreasonably difficult.

They also demanded a general improvement in the level of government services provided to their town.

The rainfall lasted for days and resulted in rising levels of the Sirwan River, flooding houses and damaging the bridge that connects Darbandikhan to nearby Kalar city. The flooding also washed away various vehicles, including pickup trucks and a bulldozer.

In the past two weeks, cities in Iraq and Kurdistan Region have witnessed multiple spells of heavy rainfall followed by major floods that led to the deaths of several citizens. 

A large number of tents that serve as homes for internally displaced persons living in camps located in Iraq's Nineveh Province were damaged either partially or completely by the flooding, along with the houses of nearby villagers. Many of those in the path of flood waters fled.

Post-rain floods are a perennial issue in the country as a whole, caused in large part by chronically inadequate infrastructure, including inefficient or poorly-maintained urban rainwater management and sewage systems.

Editing by John J. Catherine

A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)
A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)
A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)
A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)
A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)
A picture from the protests in front of the Technical College of Darbandikhan. (Photo: social media)