At least two killed as flash floods sweep across Iraq’s Kurdistan region

Heavy rain also forces Saudi film festival to cancel screenings

People wade through a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Sulaymaniyah. All photos: Reuters

A woman sweeps water from a flooded house in Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan region

Damage in Sulaymaniyah

A flooded street in Sulaymaniyah

People clean a flooded house in Chamchamal, in Sulaymaniyah Governorate

At least two people have died in severe flooding in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, including one who was killed when heavy rain caused a wall to collapse on them.

Civil defence workers said five people were injured in Sulaimaniyah province, the Iraqi News Agency reported on Tuesday. The two killed were a a 70-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman.

Videos posted on social media showed the effects of flooding in low-lying neighbourhoods, with roads inundated and vehicles left abandoned. Residents waded through water as they attempted to rescue their belongings.

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Heavy rain also affected Saudi Arabia, where civil defence workers told people to stay away from affected areas. The Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah cancelled screenings for the day due to the weather.

Storms have hit several areas of northern Iraq since early on Tuesday, disrupting traffic on motorways. Rain is expected to continue across the country until Friday.

Authorities and rescue teams have been put on high alert across Iraq to clear blocked drains and remove water from the streets. The Meteorological Authority has warned of possible flash floods in eastern parts of the country.

Iraq has experienced severe weather in recent years, including record summer temperatures that exceeded 50°C, as well as sand and dust storms.

Desertification is also a major issue in Iraq, affecting 39 per cent of the country, while 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by low water levels in rivers, a lack of rain and rising sea levels. Reduced water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and record heatwaves have intensified droughts.

Since late 2022, when Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani took office, the government has spent billions of dollars to improve infrastructure and public services after decades of war and mismanagement. However, progress has been slow and drain systems and sewerage networks are unable to handle intense rain.