Five children among seven dead in eastern Syria floods

Seven people, including five children, have died ​and seven others were ​injured after torrential rains triggered ‌flash floods ​in eastern Syria, authorities said on Friday. Four people remain missing and rescue teams are continuing to search ‌flooded areas, Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh said in a statement on X.

The five children drowned in pools of water formed by the floods, ‌while another person died in a traffic accident, Saleh said, without ‌providing details of the seventh death. Flooding has hit the eastern provinces of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor and Hasakah, as well as parts of Aleppo, damaging infrastructure, cutting off roads and ⁠forcing families ​to leave their homes.

Syria's ⁠civil defence teams have carried out more than 550 emergency operations since the storms ⁠began, rescuing 60 people trapped by floodwater and responding to more than 900 distress calls, ​Saleh said. Emergency crews evacuated more than 350 students from two schools and ⁠helped 375 families leave camps in Raqqa province. Teams also responded to flooding at ⁠camps ​in rural Aleppo and Idlib, and pumped water from around 250 homes and public buildings.

In Deir al-Zor, the floods damaged roads and telecommunications infrastructure, ⁠disrupting transport and communications, state news agency SANA reported. Heavy rainfall also caused seven ⁠culverts to collapse, ⁠cutting off access to several areas. Authorities suspended classes in Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir al-Zor on Thursday, while forecasters warned ‌unsettled weather could ‌continue into Saturday.