ReliefWeb

Background

Floods in Iraq have always caused significant loss of life and property. The rising levels of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers were the main causes of flooding until Iraq started using natural depressions to divert the excess water from the urban areas in the 1950s. This approach significantly improved the situation and no significant flood was reported until the early years of the last decade. Lately, floods were reported in different cities around Iraq with 2019 experiencing the most severe flooding since then. Therefore, to support the Iraq Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) cluster in identifying and targeting flood-prone areas where mitigation measures may be needed, REACH Iraq conducted a cumulative flood occurrence analysis of the floods during the 2018/19 winter season to identify flood hotspots throughout Iraq.