Flash floods kill two people in Erbil — a five-year-old child and a volunteer who came to help — the governor says
Flash floods tore through Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, on Saturday evening after far more rain fell than forecast — about 80mm against the 30mm expected, the governor said. Two people were killed: a five-year-old child caught in a car with his father, and a 25-year-old volunteer bulldozer operator who had brought his own machine to help residents and was swept away in the Sebardan neighbourhood. About 300 people were rescued, Governor Omed Khoshnaw said on Sunday. A lightning strike in Zakho killed a third man the same day. The full damage across the city is still being assessed.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- Checking claims4 of 4 claims checked
- 4Human gateWe are here
4 of 4 claims checked so far · step 4 of 4: Human gate
Key points
- Two people were killed in Erbil's flooding: a five-year-old child and a 25-year-old volunteer who had come to help.
- About 80mm of rain fell against a forecast of about 30mm, the governor said; official gauges recorded 70mm in the city centre.
- About 300 people were rescued, some from rooftops, the governor said on Sunday.
Show more (1)
- Schools and universities in Erbil province were closed on Sunday; the damage assessment is still under way.
What happened
Erbil floods when intense rain overwhelms its drainage: residents and traders in the Sheikh Ahmed neighbourhood and Tayrawa market told Rudaw their homes and goods were ruined, and blamed drains they said had been left uncleared despite repeated complaints. That complaint is the residents' position, carried here as such — no authority has yet answered it in the reporting read.
The same weather system swept the wider region over the weekend: storms lashed parts of Iran, and forecasters tracked further severe weather across the Mediterranean. In Erbil itself, the water arrived on Saturday evening along the eastern side of the city and moved through residential neighbourhoods toward the centre.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That two people were killed in Erbil's flooding, and who they were, on the governor's account, with the prime minister's condolences naming both.
- That far more rain fell than forecast — about 80mm on the governor's estimate, 70mm on the official gauges — and that about 300 people were rescued.
What we don't know yet
- The full cost of the damage to homes, businesses and vehicles — assessments are still under way.
- Whether the investigation the governor ordered into the flooding's causes will answer residents' complaints about uncleared drains.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: Governor Omed Khoshnaw's account, reported by Rudaw and carried in agreement by Kurdistan24, The National and The Guardian, which also gives the toll as two. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani telephoned both families to offer condolences, naming the two as Mohammed Rasoul and Mustafa Sarkawt.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Both rainfall figures are carried with their sources named: the governor's estimate and the directorate's gauge readings, both as reported by Rudaw. The two figures measure differently and are not merged here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The rescue figure and the Sunday measures are the governor's, reported by Rudaw; the Qaryatagh homes and power cuts are from Rudaw's reporting of civil defence and ministry statements the same night.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Zakho death and the Choman injury are reported by Rudaw from a local health spokesman's account. They are storm deaths, not flood deaths, and are not part of the Erbil flood toll of two — some wider counts of the day's deaths fold them in.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
The two deaths frame the same failure from both ends: a child in a family car, and a volunteer who brought his own machine to rescue others. A storm forecast at 30mm delivered more than double that — and whether the city's drains and warnings were ready for the rain that actually fell is now the question its residents are asking.
Background
Lightning kills a livestock trader at Zakho's market as the storm system crosses northern Iraq.
Flash floods tear through Erbil, sweeping away cars and entering homes; two people are killed.
The governor says about 300 people were rescued, closes schools and universities for the day, and the prime minister offers condolences to both families.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the toll and the response are confirmed by the governor's account, and the damage assessment and the flooding investigation are still under way.