Roads, schools and government offices closed throughout Kurdistan Region due to snowy weather
“We made this decision to avoid putting our students’ lives at risk.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s traffic police announced the closure of a number of roads due to the snowy weather on Monday and warned residents not to travel unless it is an emergency.
Erbil traffic police announced that the roads to the towns of Balisan, Raniya, Safin Mountain, Heran, and Shaqlawa, are covered with snow.
“The teams specialized in removing snow are working on opening the roads right now,” the authority said.
Erbil traffic police warned the region’s residents not to use these roads unless it is for an emergency.
Read More: Erbil Traffic police warn of flooding, Education Office reschedules mid-year exams
Ghafour Ahmad, the Mayor of Mergasor district–Soran Administration, declared Monday a holiday for all government offices and schools there, except for the civil defense office, water, and electricity maintenance offices, and snow removal teams.
The Koya District traffic police also announced the closure of the road between Haibat Sultan Mountain and Chnarok due to the heavy snowfall.
In Sulaimani province, the mayor of Darbandikhan district, Sleman Ahmad, announced that the main road connecting Sulaimani city with Kalar district is also closed because of the snow.
The Sulaimani Directorate of Education also announced, in a statement on Monday morning, that it is postponing the mid-year exams for students in all different grades who cannot attend schools due to the snowfall that started in the center of Sulaimani city on Sunday.
A bus carrying students near the Bazyan sub-district of Sulaimani province was also in a road accident on Monday morning due to the snowfall. No injuries were reported.
In Halabja province, the authorities shut down all government offices and schools for Monday due to the continuing snowfall.
“Our students are facing difficulties coming to school because of the continuing snowfall in the province, the reason why we announced the Monday holiday at all schools,” Soran Omar, Director General of Halabja Education Office, told Kurdistan 24. “We made this decision to avoid putting our students’ lives at risk.”
The Kurdistan Region Directorate of Forecast and Earthquake announced on Monday morning that the weather in the region will get colder and that there is a possibility of more rain and snowfall.
Read More: KRG Forecast Office warns of more heavy rain and flash flooding
