Dust Storm Kills Five Iraqis in Towkhuzmato, Sends Thousands to Hospitals

A dust storm in Iraq killed five people in Towkhuzmato, according to Mehr News Agency citing Al-Furat News, and Shirwan Abdul Rahim, director of Towkhuzmato Hospital in Salah ad-Din province, said 16 others were suffering from shortness of breath and were under treatment.

He said that by midday Friday, 21 people were transferred to the hospital and 5 died, while the dust storm over the past two days swept through many provinces of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Al Jazeera

In parallel, Kurdistan24 said that following a dust storm in Iraq, more than 2,700 people sought medical care at health facilities, with respiratory problems and a deterioration in the condition of at least 2,750 people prompting visits to hospitals and emergency care centers.

A medical source in Maysan Province said that in Maysan Province alone, 656 people suffered from dust-related effects and visited 12 hospitals and emergency centers across the province, and Amer Jaberi, spokesperson for the Iraqi Meteorological Organization, urged citizens to stay at home as much as possible until the dust concentration decreases and air quality improves.

In Iran, Deutsche Welle reported that the Iranian Meteorological Organization issued an orange warning on Wednesday (the 28th of Ordibehesht) about the continuation of dust and dust storms in several provinces, with the orange-level warning for strong winds and dust and deteriorating air quality issued for 16 provinces.

DW said the situation would continue on Wednesday in four provinces—Khuzestan, Bushehr, Ilam, and Kermanshah—and that a yellow warning had also been issued for 16 provinces.

Anadolu Ajansı

DW quoted Alireza Shahidi, head of the Iranian Geological Survey, saying, "Iran has entered a 30-year drought period about 20 years ago, and we are now witnessing the effects of this drought period," and it added that "The less water there is, the drier the land will become".

DW also reported that the World Bank says Iraq could lose nearly 20 percent of its current water reserves by 2050, and it described competing views on whether dust sources are external or domestic, including a claim that "70 percent of the country’s dust" comes from external sources and another that "70 percent originates domestically."

In Iran’s Khuzestan Province, Tabnak, citing Tasnim, said that dust in Khuzestan sent 802 people to the hospital in the past 24 hours, with Meysam Mozi stating that 802 Khuzestanis with heart and respiratory symptoms following the dust storm were referred to medical centers.

“In many cities across Iran, today’s citizens breathed in dusty, polluted air”

DW

Tabnak reported that of those 802 people, 92 were hospitalized and the rest were treated on an outpatient basis and discharged, and it said the Deputy for Treatment at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences urged residents—especially children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with respiratory diseases—to stay at home as much as possible on polluted days.

Anadolu Ajansı similarly reported that over the past 24 hours, 802 people in Khuzestan visited medical facilities due to heart and respiratory complications caused by dust, and it said Meysam Moazi urged residents to avoid direct contact with dust.

Both outlets tied the dust mass to Iraq, with Tabnak saying Khuzestan’s General Directorate of Meteorology issued a red alert for the entry and impact of a dust mass originating from Iraq from Thursday to Friday, and Anadolu Ajansı stating the Khuzestan Meteorology Department issued a red alert from Thursday to Friday.