Large-scale emergency response to floods in Hasaka

According to the Hasaka Governorate’s press office, the response to the flooding caused by heavy rainfall included the participation of the Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor, the Office of Organizations Affairs, international organizations, as well as local associations, activists, local councils, and communes in camps and shelters, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management.

As part of field measures, the governor conducted a nighttime tour of the affected neighborhoods, before overseeing the distribution of urgent aid the following day in the Ghuwayran neighborhood, one of the hardest-hit areas. A comprehensive field assessment was also carried out in neighborhoods of Hasakah city, camps for displaced people from Serekaniye, and the Jamaiya neighborhood in Qamishli, to document damage and identify urgent needs.

In the areas of Derik, Tel Hamis, Tel Brak, the countryside of Tel Tamer, Al-Arisha, and Al-Shaddadi, assessments are still ongoing amid significant damage to mud houses and agricultural and livestock livelihoods.

A shelter center was opened in the Meridian neighborhood to receive families who lost their homes entirely, and another center is being prepared with a capacity of up to 150 families for emergency cases.

Several humanitarian organizations, including the Syrian Red Crescent and the Kurdish Red Crescent, along with religious institutions and local associations, have provided various forms of aid, including shelter supplies, blankets, food items, and health services, in addition to registering families who were unable to attend distribution points.

On the international coordination level, intensive meetings were held with international organizations at the governor’s office in Hasakah and at the UNICEF office in Qamishli, aiming to accelerate aid delivery to those affected.

The Emergency and Disaster Management Committee also carried out engineering works in several locations, including Al-Birouti Bridge, the wholesale market parking areas, and parts of Nashwa neighborhood. Plans to construct earth barriers in affected areas were agreed upon, though implementation has been temporarily delayed due to rising water levels.

Aid distribution is ongoing, along with continued assessment of agricultural and livestock losses and damaged homes, as well as studies on raising embankments along the river.

Authorities confirmed that the scale of damage is significant and mostly material, noting that most casualties resulted from negligence, particularly incidents of children drowning. Residents were urged to exercise caution, monitor children, and stay away from hazardous areas and structurally unsafe homes.

A hotline (0936512250) has been designated to report families who have lost their shelter. Hasaka Governorate also confirmed that the emergency cell remains on full alert, stressing the importance of public cooperation to overcome the crisis with minimal losses.

ANHA