This video was filmed on December 21, 2021.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Rwanga Foundation has delivered aid to the families and individuals impacted by devastating floods in Erbil on Friday, which killed 12 and left over 2,500 homes damaged and 400 houses completely destroyed, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism.
Erbil's Roshinbiri neighbourhood, one of the five southeastern areas flooded on Friday, was hit particularly badly. Damage costs are estimated at over 20 billion dinars (13.7 million), with the municipality minister stating on Monday that the KRG require more than $14 million to compensate for losses caused by the floods.
Sangar Sabah's possessions were washed away by the floods in Roshinbiri. "The refrigerator and freezer have been swept away. All that remained was the washing machine, which had stopped working... nothing is left for us," he told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Younis Ali, a civil servant and father of three children, also lost everything in the flooding, including his vehicle and belongings.
"My vehicle, a Nissan Tiida, has been swept away and is still missing. Everything was taken, including rugs, carpets, refrigerators, freezers, and televisions," he said.
President Nechirvan Barzani has allocated one billion Iraqi dinars ($685,000) to those affected by the floods through his Rwanga Foundation, with the foundation providing equipment to a total of 1,200 houses in the damaged neighbourhoods.
Chief Executive Director of the Rwanga Foundation, Abdulsalam Madani, explained that in partnership with the Erbil governorate, the foundation "distributed food to people over the first three days" since the flood on Friday.
Erbil suffers from an inadequate water supply distribution network and an unsustainable drainage system. Sewers often overflow, leading to sewage escaping and mixing with stormwater.
The Iraqi government decided on Tuesday to dedicate two billion dinars ($1.3 million) towards flood prevention in the Kurdistan Region following Friday’s deadly flooding, according to the Iraqi communications minister. In response, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said in a statement late Tuesday that they "totally reject" the amount because it does not meet their expectations.
He called on Baghdad to revise the decision and increase the amount.
The search for the missing ten-month-old baby swept away in the floods on Friday is still underway.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
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