Flash Floods Collapse Syria Bridge, Kill 1, Sever Iraq Border Route
(MENAFN) Flash floods brought down a bridge in eastern Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province on Saturday, killing at least one person, severing a key road to the Iraqi border and stranding residents in flooded neighborhoods.
The Al-Suwayiyah bridge, east of Al-Bukamal, carries traffic on the route linking the city with the border crossing. With the span gone, people on either side can no longer cross.
Hisham Matar, head of civil defense in Al-Bukamal, told a news agency that floodwaters swamped numerous homes and roads, and that damage to the power network triggered outages. He said rescue teams were working around the clock, assessing damage and tracking water levels.
Mohammed Bdewi said his brother, Hussein, was on the bridge when it gave way, on his way back after taking their sister to her village. Bdewi said neglect contributed to the disaster and called on authorities to build a permanent bridge rather than rely on temporary repairs.
The collapse is part of a wider pattern of flood damage. Heavy rain has hit several Syrian provinces in recent days, including Deir ez-Zor, Latakia and Aleppo.
In Latakia’s Bayirbucak area, floodwaters destroyed another bridge connecting villages on opposite banks of the Al-Kabir al-Shamali River. Provincial authorities said repairs have started. Floods also tore through farmland and residential areas in Afrin, north of Aleppo.
Earlier, heavy rain in late October killed seven civilians, five of them children, in rural parts of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo, according to the Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry.
The Al-Suwayiyah bridge, east of Al-Bukamal, carries traffic on the route linking the city with the border crossing. With the span gone, people on either side can no longer cross.
Hisham Matar, head of civil defense in Al-Bukamal, told a news agency that floodwaters swamped numerous homes and roads, and that damage to the power network triggered outages. He said rescue teams were working around the clock, assessing damage and tracking water levels.
Mohammed Bdewi said his brother, Hussein, was on the bridge when it gave way, on his way back after taking their sister to her village. Bdewi said neglect contributed to the disaster and called on authorities to build a permanent bridge rather than rely on temporary repairs.
The collapse is part of a wider pattern of flood damage. Heavy rain has hit several Syrian provinces in recent days, including Deir ez-Zor, Latakia and Aleppo.
In Latakia’s Bayirbucak area, floodwaters destroyed another bridge connecting villages on opposite banks of the Al-Kabir al-Shamali River. Provincial authorities said repairs have started. Floods also tore through farmland and residential areas in Afrin, north of Aleppo.
Earlier, heavy rain in late October killed seven civilians, five of them children, in rural parts of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo, according to the Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry.
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