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ACAPS Briefing Note: Iraq - Floods in Ninewa and Salah al-Din Ninew (7 December 2018)

Countries
Iraq
Sources
ACAPS
Publication date
Origin
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Torrential rainfall on 22 and 23 November caused severe flooding across Iraq. Ninewa and Salah al-Din are the most affected governorates with bridges and roads damaged and villages inundated with water. In total, at least 22,000 people in Ninewa governorate and 10,000 people in Salah al-Din governorate are affected, including people still displaced from conflict. Thousands of civilians are newly displaced due to the floods.

Displaced households need urgent shelter assistance. NFIs, WASH, food security and livelihoods, education and health assistance are also needed. The government is responding and international aid actors are present in the country (Rudaw 25/11/2018; OCHA 27/11/2018).

Anticipated scope and scale

Evacuations from cut-off areas are ongoing, which could lead to further displacement. In areas where floods have receded, severely damaged critical infrastructure will require reconstruction (The National 02/12/2018).

Many houses, agricultural fields, and other livelihood assets are destroyed, which will have lasting impacts on food security and livelihoods (IOM 27/11/2018; Shelter Cluster 29/11/2018).Forecasts show that more rains are predicted in the coming weeks and winter is approaching (ECHO 6/12/2018; Shelter Cluster 29/11/2018).

Humanitarian constraints

Major damage to roads and bridges hinder humanitarian response. Insecurity levels remain high and restrict operations. Unexploded ordnance may have been moved in the floods (CSIS 11/2018).