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

Heavy rain in northern Iraq resulted in flash floods that claimed the lives of two individuals on Saturday evening, reported Governor Omed Khoshnaw. In Erbil, the capital city of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, torrential rainfall caused flooding across most neighborhoods, leading to the death of a five-year-old child and a bulldozer operator.

The child was traveling with his father in a vehicle when it was caught in the floodwaters; rescue teams later recovered the body. The second victim was a volunteer aiding emergency responders when he was swept away by the surging water, also recovered by rescue teams. The governor described the flooding as widespread, affecting most neighborhoods from the eastern outskirts to the city center, causing substantial damage to homes, shops, commercial establishments, and vehicles, along with damage to roads, public infrastructure, and the electricity network.

He urged residents to avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary for the safety of citizens and to allow emergency teams to carry out rescue and relief operations without obstruction.

In Gaza, heavy rain inundated tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians in displacement camps, leaving many soaked and lacking resources to cope. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office reported that at least 70,000 tents had been flooded in the past 12 hours, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing injuries, though no deaths have been reported.

The territory's civil defense service received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents, and three abandoned houses collapsed without causing injury. Residents struggled to repair their tents or reinforce them with sand to prevent water from entering, while others tried to get their children out of flooded shelters. Municipal and civil defense officials struggled to cope with the storm due to fuel shortages and damage to equipment, exacerbated by Israel's destruction of hundreds of vehicles, including those used for water pumping, during its war against Hamas.

Gaza residents expressed their distress, with one resident, Rafiq Ghattas, stating, "We have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is checking on us."