Syria Floods Claim Five Lives, Including Four Children, Amidst Widespread Damage

Heavy rainfall has swept across several Syrian provinces, resulting in the deaths of at least five individuals, four of whom were children. The children tragically drowned in bodies of water located in the Raqqa and Deir Az Zor governorates, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management on Thursday. In a separate incident, a man lost his life when his vehicle was engulfed by floodwaters near al-Salmani Bridge in the western Raqqa countryside. Additionally, five people, including two children, are currently reported missing following the severe storms that have affected the nation.

The collapse of al-Salmani Bridge on Thursday marked the second consecutive day the ministry has documented responses to flooding incidents nationwide. The ministry has been providing ongoing situation updates via its X account. Significant infrastructure damage has been reported, with disruptions affecting several bridges in the affected regions, including Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, Hasakah, and Homs. State news agency SANA confirmed that al-Salmani Bridge, situated west of Tabqa, succumbed to the flooding, leading to the closure of the crucial road connecting Raqqa to Aleppo. Emergency teams have successfully rescued 15 civilians whose vehicles were trapped by the rising floodwaters.

In response to the crisis, the ministry has facilitated the evacuation of approximately 375 families from three camps located in the rural outskirts of Raqqa. This is not the first instance of Syria grappling with the severe threat of heavy rains and subsequent flooding. UNICEF previously reported in June that 17,000 people had been negatively impacted by flooding earlier in the year. At that time, the UN agency noted that 700 families had been displaced, comprising around 2,000 children, and that 49 water treatment plants in the Deir Az Zor and Raqqa governorates had ceased operations.