Alert in Iraq.. Heavy rains and floods, and warnings of the worst

Announcing the state of extreme alert

– The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced that it is following up the efforts of the civil defense teams to withdraw water rainsdirected to full alert, in a statement that said, “The Minister of Interior, Mr. Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, has been following up, since yesterday, Friday, until now, the procedures of the Civil Defense Directorate in withdrawing rainwater, assisting citizens, and humanitarian cases in Baghdad and the provinces.”

– The Iraqi Interior Ministry stated that the Minister called for the full mobilization of all civil defense teams, and work to support the government effort to withdraw rainwater, and intensify efforts with the joints and formations of the Ministry of Interior during the current weather conditions that the country is going through.

Baghdad is alert

– announced Baghdad Municipality That all the efforts of its departments entered the state of maximum alert to drain rainwater, and it was stated in a statement issued by the Mayor of Baghdad, Ammar Kazem, that “all the mechanical and human efforts of the Municipality of Baghdad are mobilized to drain rainwater from the streets and residential neighborhoods in the capital, Baghdad, and there is a high intensity of rain that lasted for several hours and no It is still continuing at a rate that exceeds the design capacity of the capital’s network, Baghdad.”

– The city of Baghdad witnessed heavy and severe rains that exceeded the absorptive capacity of the Baghdad sewage network, and work is underway by the staff of the Municipality of Baghdad to drain it as soon as possible,” according to the mayor of the capital.

– The Iraqi official indicated that some of the electric power lines feeding the stations were out of service due to bad weather.

A global phenomenon

Climate and environment experts believe that the extreme climatic changes that afflict Iraq, at this time of the year, are embodied in heavy and unprecedented rates of precipitation, causing devastating floods and torrential rains due to the inability of the drainage and containment structures to absorb this huge amount of accumulated and pouring water non-stop. for long hours.

Worn out drainage structures

While others criticize the deterioration of the infrastructure and services in various Iraqi cities and governorates, especially the large ones, calling for the allocation of feasible plans and huge budgets to confront the effects of devastating climate shifts and limit their repercussions, of which Iraq is the fifth most affected country in the world, according to the United Nations.

Expert opinion

* The director of the Iraqi Water and Energy Strategies Institute, Dr. Ramadan Hamza, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia:

– changes the climate Undoubtedly, it causes disturbances and weather fluctuations and shifts in its usual patterns, as the planet has entered the stage of the mini-ice age since 2014, so climate change will be embodied in the form of extreme and anomalous phenomena, including a change in the pattern of precipitation to heavy rain that falls in very short periods of time. Which naturally causes thundering, unexpected, and uncontrollable torrential floods.

– What the cities of Iraq are witnessing in the same condition as the various cities of the region and around the world, is due to the fact that such terrible quantities of torrential water were not taken into account, but in Iraq there are other reasons, including the so-called population invasion of the outskirts of cities and agricultural areas, and the lack of infrastructure development. The infrastructure of the sewage water networks, their obsolescence, their small diameters, and the neglect of their maintenance and renewal.

– Therefore, we see flooding of streets and homes in Iraqi cities in general, when even small amounts of rain showers fall, bearing in mind that the western and southwestern regions of Iraq, i.e. the western desert and the Jazira region, will witness more precipitation than the previously recorded rates due to climate change.

– Thus, there is a negligence that must be remedied through the maintenance and expansion of sewers and drains, especially since everyone knows that the repercussions of extreme climate change include surges that result in devastating rainfalls, if they are not prepared for by modernizing the infrastructure and services as it should, and adopting engineering and urban planning that takes into account Take into account climate change and its negative effects.