Arab News | Floods inundate farmland in eastern Syria, damage crops

LONDON: Floodwaters in the Syrian Arab Republic submerged about 2.5 sq. km of farmland in Deir Ezzor and damaged crops in neighboring Raqqa, where preliminary assessments showed losses exceeding 40 percent in some maize fields, agricultural officials said.

Heavy rain over the past two days, accompanied by hail and strong downdraft winds, triggered flash floods across the two provinces, inundating farmland and cutting off several main and secondary roads, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

In Al-Kubar, in the Deir Ezzor countryside, flooding submerged about 2,500 dunams, or 2.5 sq. km, planted with wheat, barley, sesame, maize, winter vegetables and olive trees, Mohammed Issa Al-Khalifa, head of the town’s Agricultural Extension Unit, told SANA.

A dunam equals 1,000 sq. meters, or 0.001 sq. km.

The provincial Agriculture Directorate has begun documenting the damage and assessing losses, he said.

In northern Raqqa, agricultural teams were inspecting fields around Hazima for damage from thunderstorms and strong winds, said Abdullah Al-Afar, head of the local Agricultural Extension Unit.

Preliminary assessments in the Bir Al-Hashm area found losses of 30 to 35 percent across about 1,000 dunams of affected cotton fields and more than 40 percent across 800 dunams of maize, Al-Afar said.

Floodwaters also submerged winter and summer vegetable crops.

As inspections continued, affected farmers called for compensation and measures to protect farmland and residential areas from further flooding.

Khalil Al-Youssef, a farmer from Raqqa, urged authorities to address the damage and regularly clear drainage channels to improve rainwater runoff.

The storms were part of severe weather affecting 10 Syrian provinces, including Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Hasaka, Hama, Idlib, Homs, Latakia, Tartous and Daraa.

The latest flooding follows floods along the Euphrates River between late May and early June that affected more than 27,000 people in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, according to the UN Population Fund.

Those floods displaced thousands and damaged critical infrastructure, including more than 60 water stations.