The Emergency and Disaster Management Committee in Deir Ezzor Governorate (eastern Syria) announced today, Thursday, 28 May, the immediate evacuation of the Hawijat Saqr and Hawijat Kati areas.
The committee called on all residents to cooperate with the relevant authorities and comply with the instructions issued, to ensure everyone’s safety and protect lives and property.
The decision comes as the water level of the Euphrates River continues to rise, amid emergency team mobilization and reinforcement work on earthen embankments, water stations, and damaged bridges in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.
For its part, the Syrian Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management issued a report revealing the scale of the response to the rising water level of the Euphrates River in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor governorates on 26 and 27 May.
The ministry said its teams had been fully mobilized to confront the effects of the floods and protect residents and infrastructure.
The report said the ministry sent support teams and heavy machinery from Aleppo and Idlib governorates, in addition to renting extra machinery from the same areas, to save time and accelerate response operations.
In Raqqa Governorate (northern Syria), the ministry said the response included:
- Reinforcing an earthen embankment from half a meter wide to four meters wide, along a length of 150 meters and at a height ranging from one and a half to two meters, to prevent the flooding of the water pump serving the villages of al-Mazyouna, al-Khatouniyah, Hawi al-Hawa, al-Mahoukiyah, and Harqaleh.
- Raising a 700-meter earthen embankment in Hawijat Zahra.
- Raising a 150-meter earthen embankment in Hawijat al-Anoun.
- Raising a 150-meter earthen embankment in Hawijat al-Badr.
- Raising a 250-meter earthen embankment in Hawijat al-Hammada.
The report said the damage in Raqqa included the flooding of several homes, a school, a mosque, and farmland in the Hawayij areas of al-Jamasa, al-Jumaili, and al-Ajeel.
In Deir Ezzor Governorate, the response was as follows:
- Raising a 700-meter earthen embankment beside the Dhiban water station to protect civilian homes and nearby farmland from the risk of flooding.
- Raising earthen embankments around the water station in the Zghair Shamiyah area to prevent it from being flooded and going out of service.
- Raising earthen embankments in the al-Bu Nasser area in the Harabesh neighborhood.
- Removing parts of the earthen bridge in Deir Ezzor city, in cooperation with the governorate and water resources authorities, to prevent the bridge from being flooded, facilitate water drainage, and prevent a sudden collapse that could threaten residents’ safety.
- Pulling back a ferry that had been swept away by the current, returning it to its course, and securing the civilians and cars on board.
The ministry said the impact in Deir Ezzor included the deaths of three children who drowned while swimming in the Euphrates River, while one child remains missing. The al-Mari’iyah Bridge, the earthen bridge, and al-Asharah Bridge also went out of service, in addition to the flooding of several homes in the Harabesh neighborhood and farmland and homes in Hawijat Saqr.
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said on X that a joint operations room had been established with the two governorates and water resources authorities and was working around the clock.
Support teams began arriving gradually from Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Homs governorates, according to the minister, to support ongoing response operations in areas affected by the rising water level of the Euphrates River.
Al-Saleh confirmed that no deaths directly caused by the floods had been recorded so far, explaining that the recorded deaths were of children who had been swimming in the river and were not linked to the flooding of the Euphrates itself.
The Euphrates River extends for more than 600 kilometers inside Syrian territory. Al-Saleh stressed that the ministry was doing all it could within its professional mandate as the body responsible for responding to emergencies and disasters, to ensure residents’ safety and protect communities located on both banks of the river.
Al-Saleh also confirmed that the file of bridges and related demands falls outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, explaining that the ministry’s responsibility is focused on emergency response work, raising readiness, and protecting lives and affected communities.
Euphrates Station Operating at Full Capacity
The General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Deir Ezzor Governorate announced today, Thursday, 28 May, that the giant Euphrates station is still operating at full capacity so far.
The water establishment said work at the Euphrates station is continuing through the construction of earthen embankments around the raw water pumping units to isolate them from the river’s flow path.
This comes through the combined efforts of the establishment’s staff, with support from some humanitarian organizations and the local community, according to Deir Ezzor Water.
The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management announced on the morning of Thursday, 28 May, an urgent field response at al-Asharah Bridge in Deir Ezzor Governorate, where it began reinforcement work on the damaged section of the bridge using additional quantities of rubble.
The ministry said the work comes as an emergency measure aimed at strengthening public safety conditions and ensuring the security and safety of civilian crossing movement.
Services Disrupted
The rising water level of the Euphrates River caused several water pumping stations in rural Deir Ezzor to go out of service, affecting water access in several residential areas.
The rising water level also forced earthen and vital bridges out of service, including the Marat Military Bridge and the earthen bridge in the area, in addition to the al-Mayadin earthen bridge, disrupting movement between several towns, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in the governorate.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Raqqa reported that the village of Hawijat al-Sawafi is among the worst affected areas after water began entering homes, prompting more than 15 families to leave their houses and move to safer areas.
He added that the rising water level also flooded large areas of farmland planted with wheat and barley, in addition to damaging fruit trees along the banks of the Euphrates River.
The correspondent said the damage also extended to fish farms, causing major losses for breeders working in the sector.
The repercussions of the flooding also affected service infrastructure, as the drinking water station in the village of Hamrat Balasim went out of service after water reached it, while the Tawi Rumman irrigation station also stopped operating after it was flooded.
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