A Night of Water And Grief: Erbil Flood Takes A Child And A Young Volunteer

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The rain that officials had expected to bring about 30 millimeters came down as a flood on Saturday night, and by dawn Erbil was counting two lives: a 5-year-old child carried away from a car, and a 25-year-old volunteer who drove his own machine into the water to save strangers. Preliminary estimates put the rainfall at nearly 80 millimeters, Erbil Governor Omed Xoshnaw told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday as he toured the damaged neighborhoods.

A disaster has befallen our city and our people,

Xoshnaw said.

He said preparations began in September and the forecast was for about 30 millimeters, but the downpour sent water through many neighborhoods at once, and on the 120 Meter and 150 Meter Roads it flowed “like a river.” The 25-year-old, who had come with his own loader from the Hiwaiste area to New Erbil to pull people to safety, was swept away, and his body was later found, the governor said. The second victim was a 5-year-old boy riding in a car with his father, who escaped while the child was carried off by the water. Rescue teams found his body after a search, the governor said. Iraqi media, quoting the child’s uncle, also confirmed that the body was found.

A member of the swimming and rescue team that pulled the child from the New Erbil floodwater described how the team reached the scene after an order from Col. Taha, when the streets were jammed. He said he left his car on the 120 Meter Road and ran on foot to reach the family because their lives were at risk, and that the child was already dead when they pulled him out. “All the wealth of Erbil is not worth that child’s life,” he told Kurdistan 24, pleading with people not to go out in heavy rain, because stalled cars close the roads to rescuers. His team was then working under the 120 Meter bridge to free dozens of submerged cars, and he said no other drowning cases had been recorded in that area.

Soran’s Civil Defense directorate sent five rescue teams to Erbil at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, under the supervision of Col. Karwan Mirawdeli. Spokesman Rawand Maghdid told Kurdistan 24 that the teams were sent to help Erbil’s teams reach stranded residents and recover vehicles trapped by the rising water.

Local media reported water over the 100 Meter Road and parts of Family Mall, flash floods in the Zilan and Sebardan areas, and many cars damaged or underwater, and said more than 40 homes were flooded in the village of Qaryatagh. Residents of the Sheikh Ahmed neighborhood said the water ruined everything in their homes and carried off several cars, and traders in the Tayrawa market said most of their goods were soaked, blaming drains that are too small for the flow.

Xoshnaw said the rain has stopped and most of the situation is under control, with standing water remaining only in New Erbil, the Brayati neighborhood and near Zheen hospital, where service teams are clearing the roads. He declared Sunday a holiday for all educational institutions in the governorate. He said any employee who cannot reach work because of the flood, flooded homes, or damaged roads will not be counted absent and will be given leave.

The Kurdistan Region’s electricity ministry said it would cut power temporarily in neighborhoods where standing water put lives at risk.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani phoned the governor, asked for close follow-up, and told him to make every effort to protect residents and respond to the flood, Xoshnaw said.

The governor said the prime minister praised the field teams, including civil defense, security, police, traffic, and municipal crews, and that Peshmerga forces have also offered to help. The prime minister’s office said he thanked the emergency teams and told the governor to take all necessary measures to protect lives and property.

Last December, floods in the Region and Kirkuk killed five people, injured 19, and damaged 2,225 homes, according to the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Center, and in December 2021 floods killed 11 people in Erbil.