Floods kill two in Iraq and swamp tens of thousands of tents in Gaza as heavy rain hits region

Heavy rain has brought disaster on two fronts, as flash floods in northern Iraq killed two people while flooding in Gaza inundated displacement camps, leaving tens of thousands soaked with few resources to cope.

In Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, torrential rainfall on Saturday evening triggered flash flooding across most of the city's neighbourhoods, killing a five-year-old child and a bulldozer operator in his late 20s, Governor Omed Khoshnaw said.

Rainfall, initially forecast at around 30 millimetres, intensified sharply after 7pm, with preliminary estimates putting the deluge at 80mm, Mr Khoshnaw said.

The child was travelling in a vehicle with his father in the New Erbil neighbourhood when their car was caught in the flooding, he added. Rescue teams later recovered the body.

The second victim was a volunteer who had been assisting emergency responders and residents near Hiwa City when he was swept away by the surging water, he said. His body was also recovered.

The governor described the flooding as “widespread”, affecting most of Erbil's neighbourhoods, from the eastern outskirts towards the city centre.

The floods caused substantial losses to homes, shops, commercial establishments and vehicles, while also damaging roads, public infrastructure and the electricity network.

“What matters most right now is the safety of our citizens,” he said, urging residents to avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary, so emergency teams could carry out rescue and relief operations without obstruction.

Flash floods are a recurring threat across the Kurdistan region, particularly during the colder months. Last year, flooding triggered by days of heavy rain killed five people, injured 19 and damaged 2,225 homes across the region and the adjacent Kirkuk province.

Gaza displacement camps overwhelmed

In Gaza, heavy rain on Saturday flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians crammed into encampments across the strip, inundating shelters and soaking blankets and mattresses, authorities said.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 70,000 tents had been flooded in the past 12 hours, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing some injuries, although no deaths have been reported.

The territory's civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents. Three abandoned houses collapsed without causing injury, it added.

At a tent encampment in Gaza city, some people tried to repair their tents, while others used sand to reinforce them and prevent water from entering, Reuters reported. Others struggled to get their children out of flooded shelters.

Olfat Magdoub, a Gaza resident, tried in vain to sweep water away from her tent. “This is the first day of rain and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the first day and we're already overwhelmed,” Ms Magdoub said.

“Two weeks ago when it rained, I swear to God, I spent four days sleeping on blankets spread on the floor because the rainwater had flooded the bedding. Same now, the mattresses are wet so we sleep on the ground.”

Municipal and civil defence officials said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damage to equipment.

They said Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and those used to pump water, during its war against Hamas, which has displaced most of Gaza's more than two million residents and left much of the territory in ruins. Most of the population now lives in tent camps.

Hamas blamed Israel for not allowing shelter and construction materials into Gaza.

Cogat, the Israeli military agency that co-ordinates aid, did not immediately comment on the accusations by Hamas. It said on Friday it had stepped up efforts to improve sanitary conditions across Gaza before the heavy rain, which had been expected, in co-ordination with international organisations.

The agency said four additional vacuum trucks had entered Gaza last week through the International Committee of the Red Cross, joining eight others brought in over the past month to support sewage pumping, weekly waste removal, and repairs to water and sewage infrastructure.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year called for the eventual reconstruction of Gaza, but little progress has been made. Negotiators have failed to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, which control about two-thirds of the territory.

“We have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is checking on us,” said displaced Gaza resident Rafiq Ghattas, standing barefoot in the middle of a large pool of rainwater.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,600 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its assault on the territory, after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in attacks in October 2023.