Flooding in Sulaymaniyah’s Chamchamal kills two

SULAYMANIYAH — Heavy rain and flooding in Sulaymaniyah’s Chamchamal has led to two deaths on Tuesday and damaged several public buildings, according to local officials.

A Shorash subdistrict official told 964media: “Unfortunately, because of the flooding, a resident over 70 years old and a child lost their lives.”

Chamchamal district authorities later released a statement saying that flooding over the past few hours had caused two deaths and left four others injured in the district.

Sharif Rahim, deputy director of Chamchamal health, confirmed to 964media that the body of the man, “born in 1954,” was transferred to the hospital. He said, “Because flooding has affected most neighborhoods, we cannot send our teams and ambulances to reach residents.”

Videos sent to 964media showed residents pleading for assistance. Buildings housing the district office, police, passport department and culture directorate were inundated.

Heavy rainfall and flooding also caused hundreds of vehicles to stall on Bani Maqan road between Chamchamal and Kirkuk, and on roads between Chamchamal and Sulaimaniyah.

A storm system has affected the Kurdistan Region since Sunday and continues. The Kurdistan Region’s meteorology department forecast 35 to 45 millimeters of rain Tuesday in parts of Sulaymaniyah governorate.