Iraq: 9 killed, thousands displaced following floods

The mayor of Shirqat in northern Iraq said on Friday that at least seven people have been killed and thousands were displaced following flood as a result of the heavy rainfall.

Nine people were killed in Iraq after floods hit the Saladdin region. 23 November 2018

Two people died after their house collapsed on them in the province of Dhi Qar in the southern Iraq.

Footage from Shirqat showed people fleeing in small boats, the Iraqi News Agency reported.

Around 3,000 people were made homeless as a result of the floods, regional Mayor Ali Al-Dodh said. Officials in the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahaddin province, demanded helicopters be sent to rescue and evacuate civilians.

The floods, after unusually heavy and early rainfall in recent weeks, have piled more pressure on Iraq’s new government to provide services and fix infrastructure in provinces hard-hit by the 2014-17 war against Daesh and by years of neglect that critics blame on corruption.

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