Flash floods kill 4, displace thousands in Iraqi village

BAGHDAD – An Iraqi military officer says at least two children and two elderly people have been killed in a village in northern Iraq hit by flash floods unleashed by heavy rains.

Lt. General Jumaa Anad, head of the emergency operations room, said five people are still missing following the flash floods Friday in Houreya village, outside of Shirqat town in the northern Salahuddin province. Anad said the village’s 4,000 residents have been evacuated after water levels rose to 2 metres (6.5 feet).

The flash floods hit Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces, also causing bridges to collapse.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered a crisis management team to oversee rescue operations and review preventive measures as the rains continued.