EU provides €100,000 in support of Iraq’s flood-hit communities

SULAYMANIYAH — The European Union announced Wednesday it is providing €100,000 (about $109,000) in humanitarian funding to support communities affected by recent flooding in northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, following days of heavy rainfall earlier this month.

In a statement, the Delegation of the European Union to Iraq said, “Following severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall in northern Iraq earlier this month, the European Union is providing €100,000 in humanitarian funding to assist the most affected people.”

The EU said the funding will support the Iraqi Red Crescent Society in delivering emergency assistance, including “essential household items, food assistance, winter supplies, hygiene items, cash support, and basic health and water services.” It said the aid will benefit more than 16,000 people whose homes, livelihoods and access to basic services were disrupted by the floods. The funding is part of the EU’s contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“Between 9 and 12 December 2025, heavy rainfall triggered flash floods across several governorates in northern Iraq, including Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Nineveh,” the statement said, adding that hundreds of homes and public facilities were damaged, forcing families to flee and leaving many without shelter, food or access to services.

The EU said its humanitarian assistance “is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world” and aims “to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.”

The announcement follows deadly flooding across the Kurdistan Region and northern Iraq earlier this month. Flooding in Chamchamal district killed two people and damaged hundreds of homes, while authorities and volunteers also carried out search operations in Bazyan subdistrict after floodwaters swept away residents. In Kirkuk governorate, a 9-year-old girl died after being carried away by floodwaters in Laylan subdistrict.