Erbil floods: 25-year-old volunteer rescuer killed, 5-year-old child missing
Heavy rain on Saturday evening caused flooding in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Governor Omed Khoshnaw said a volunteer was killed and a child is missing; classes at all educational institutions have been suspended on Sunday.
Heavy rain on Saturday evening caused flooding in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. A 25-year-old man who had volunteered to join rescue efforts was killed, and a 5-year-old child is missing.
Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said that, according to preliminary information, the young man, who had voluntarily joined rescue efforts in the Seberdan neighbourhood with his own loader, was caught in the powerful current and lost his life while helping others. According to the governor, the 5-year-old child was swept away by floodwaters while travelling in a vehicle with the child's father, who managed to escape. The child's whereabouts are still unknown.
Khoshnaw said emergency and civil defence teams were on alert and continuing rescue operations, including efforts to locate the missing child. Erbil Civil Defence also said several people were missing and that a search for them was under way. The city's Family Mall shopping centre went out of service after being flooded with rainwater.
According to the governor, several neighbourhoods and locations across the city suffered damage, with floodwater entering residential homes. He said the rain had stopped but the damage remained.
Khoshnaw declared Sunday, 8 November, an official holiday for all educational institutions in Erbil province — public and private kindergartens, schools and universities. Days missed by government employees whose homes were flooded or who could not reach their workplaces because of transport difficulties will be counted as leave. Service and emergency teams have been told to remain on duty.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke with the governor by phone, thanked emergency and service teams, and instructed that all necessary measures be taken to protect citizens' lives and property.
Heavy rain has caused deadly floods in the Kurdistan Region before. People were killed in floods in Erbil in December 2021, and three people died in floods in Sulaimani province in December 2025.
