Raqqa, May 28 (SANA) Syrian authorities have intensified emergency measures along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria after water levels rose sharply following heavy rainfall and increased upstream water flows, officials said late Wednesday.
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said a joint operations room had been established with the governorates of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor and the Ministry of Water Resources to coordinate response efforts and monitor developments around the clock.
In a statement posted on the social platform X, al-Saleh said emergency reinforcement teams from Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Homs had begun arriving in affected areas to support local response operations and strengthen flood preparedness along both banks of the river.
The ministry said response crews had reinforced earthen barriers in several areas of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor to protect homes, water facilities and agricultural land from flooding.
In Raqqa governorate, workers expanded protective embankments near water pumping stations serving villages including Al-Maziyouna, Al-Khatouniya and Harqalah, while additional barriers were raised in low-lying riverbank areas.
The minister said floodwaters had inundated several homes, a school, a mosque and farmland in parts of Raqqa countryside.
In neighboring Deir Ezzor governorate, emergency crews reinforced barriers near water stations in Dhiban and Zughair Shamiyah to prevent service disruptions caused by rising waters.
The ministry said teams had also removed sections of an earthen bridge in Deir Ezzor city in coordination with local authorities and the Ministry of Water Resources to improve water drainage and reduce the risk of structural collapse.
Emergency teams recovered a ferry swept away by strong currents and secured civilians and vehicles on board, according to the ministry.
Al-Saleh said no deaths directly linked to flooding had been recorded so far. He said recent fatalities involved children who drowned while swimming in the river and were not caused by floodwaters.
Local authorities reported that three children drowned in the Euphrates River near the village of Al-Zughair in Deir Ezzor countryside, while a fourth child remained missing.
Officials said several bridges had gone out of service due to rising water levels, while homes and agricultural land in the Herabesh neighborhood and Hawijat Saqr area had been flooded.
Haitham Bakour, director general of the Euphrates Dam Institution, said reservoir levels had exceeded 97 percent following one of Syria’s heaviest rainy seasons in nearly three decades.
Speaking to Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya television channel on Wednesday, Bakour said Syrian dams had already been nearly full before water inflows increased, creating significant operational pressure on reservoir management systems.
He said Turkish authorities had released about 2,000 cubic meters of water per second through upstream dams while opening all spillway gates, describing the measure as unprecedented.
Bakour urged residents to avoid areas within the riverbed zone, warning that continued presence near the river despite repeated warnings increased the risk of drowning incidents and flood-related losses, particularly during the Eid al-Adha holiday period.
N.J/ABD
