Several people have been killed when a tornado triggered a flood in Erbil, Iraq | Weather News

Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in the Kurdish regional capital, according to the governor.

At least eight people have been killed and others injured in a torrential downpour that destroyed floods in Erbil, the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, according to officials.

District Governor Omid Khoshnaw said Friday that women and children were among those killed after a tragic night that passed through several residential areas.

“The flood also destroyed many treasures,” he said.

Rudaw Newspaper mentioned Khoshnaw said seven people had died in the floods, and another had lost his life during a lightning strike.

Several other people were injured, while the number of casualties and the amount of damage are still being investigated.

Civil defense spokesman Sarkawt Karach said many people were forced to leave their homes. “The search for the missing continues,” said Karach, warning that the death toll could rise.

In Erbil, reports of mudflats have flooded the streets. Buses, cars, and tanks were washed away by the storm, and some dropped dead.

Mr Khoshnaw urged people to stay home as long as necessary, warning that heavy rains were expected due to fears of flooding.

Iraq has been affected by a series of very weather events. It withstands high temperatures and repeated drought in recent years, however, they have also experienced catastrophic floods – worsening as storms fall on sun-baked soil.

A solid environment, compounded by the loss of vegetation, means that the earth does not absorb water quickly, and when the wind blows, it can become a flood.

Scientists say that climate change exacerbates bad weather, including drought and the potential for increased rainfall patterns.

Experts have warned that too little rainfall, coupled with climate change, threatens the economic crisis in Iraq’s war-torn Iraq.