ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Major rainfall starting from Monday has hit the Iranian Kurdish province of Ilam, leading to flooding in the area Wednesday night.
In addition to material damage, the flooding also resulted in casualties, killing three civilians and injuring many others. At least one resident has also been reported missing.
According to local sources, the flooding has largely damaged streets and roads in the province, damaging electricity and communication infrastructure in many districts and sub-districts.
"We did not expect such a mass loss from the flood. Many houses are heavily damaged and roads are damaged," a local source told Rudaw. "The flood shows that the province's construction infrastructure is weak and the government has not taken the construction and building sector into consideration."
Ilam Governor Mohammed Razza Murwarid spoke Thursday about flood casualties, saying, "Unfortunately, three civilians died and a civilian is missing due to the flooding. Rescue teams are actively looking to find the missing person. Twenty civilians have also been hurt from the flooding. The conditions of two of them are critical and they are suffering from serious injuries."
"I think the rescuers did not expect any natural disaster like this flood," another resident told Rudaw.
The flooding also shut down government buildings, schools and the daily lives of civilians. Additionally, the Ilam International Airport has temporarily halted all of its flights.
The rain is expected to continue until Saturday according to local forecasts.
Ilam is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the west of the country, bordering Iraq. Its provincial center is the city of Ilam. The population of the province is approximately 600,000 people, according to 2015 estimates.
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Heavy rain also hit the city of Kirkuk in Iraq Thursday, inflicting material and civilian damage, especially in newly constructed neighborhoods lacking civil services, including Failaq, Barutkhana, Sarchnar and Darwaza, a Rudaw reporter at the scene reported.
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Officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan region's Garmiyan bloc area also said that an intense rainstorm will hit Garmiyan bloc Thursday night.
Brigadier General Mufid Ali, director of the civic defense of the Garmiyan bloc, told Rudaw Thursday that in the Kalar and Kifri districts teams have been formed to rescue people.
Over the past 24 hours Garmiyan has received 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) of rain, according to the bloc's forecast and earthquake directorate. It is expected in the next 24 hours another 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) will fall, which is an unprecedented amount over the last 50 years since records have been kept for the bloc.
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