Eight die in torrential rains in northern Iraq: Govt
Baghdad: Eight people were killed due to torrential rains in the past 24 hours in Erbil province in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, the provincial governor said on Friday. Eight people, including a girl, died as a result of rains that swept the namesake Kurdish regional capital Erbil, some 375 km north of Baghdad, Omed Khoshnaw, Erbil’s governor, said in a statement.
Khoshnaw said the rains have flooded many main roads and neighborhoods in the city of Erbil and that the torrents caused great material damage, in addition to the human casualties.
The torrents prompted the provincial authorities to declare a state of emergency to rescue many trapped people in Erbil, as well as in the southern suburb of Darato and the town of Qushtapa in the south of Erbil, Khoshnaw added.
According to the Kurdistan Meteorological Department, heavy rains are expected to continue in Erbil during the coming two days. The heavy rain, the first of its kind, came at a time when Iraq is suffering from a drought.
