President Barzani dedicates $685,000 to help people affected by Erbil floods

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani allocated one billion Iraqi dinars ($685,000) to those people who were affected by the deadly floods in Erbil on Friday. The money will be spent through the Rwanga Foundation, according to a statement from the organization. 

The money will be spent on providing food and house equipment to people who were affected by the flooding, the Rwanga Foundation said in its statement, adding that they will also start “cleaning the houses, roads, and affected neighborhoods.”  
   
“The mentioned support will start on December 18, 2021, and continue until the families return to their homes. It is worth mentioning that the process of support will be carried out in coordination with the Erbil governorate and Barzani Charity Foundation,” read the statement. 

In the early hours of Friday, floods killed 12 people in several neighborhoods of Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan Region, according to Governor Omed Khoshnaw, who told reporters later in the day that they would assess the losses on Saturday. 

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received a phone call from his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in which the latter expressed his government's readiness to help the Region cope with flash floods in Erbil that killed a dozen people.

This is the second wave of flooding in Erbil city this year, with the first one in late October mostly causing material damage. Bad sewage system was blamed for this flooding as well, and the investor who built an affected neighbourhood was jailed for allegedly changing the direction of the sewage.