Syria floods kill five including four children, five missing
09:58, 30/10/2026, FridayU: Update: 10:42, 30/10/2026, Friday
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Syria's Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry said on Thursday that five people including four children were killed and five others remain missing after heavy rainfall and flash floods struck several provinces, as rescue teams continue search operations and emergency response efforts across the affected regions.
Fatalities and search operations
Syrian authorities on Thursday reported that flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall have killed five people including four children across the countryside of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, with five others still missing in rural areas as search and rescue operations continue across multiple provinces. The Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry stated that the missing were reported in rural areas of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo, according to the official SANA news agency.
Civil Defense teams have rescued 25 people trapped by floodwaters or stranded vehicles in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Homs since the severe weather began. Syrian army helicopters joined rescue operations in Deir ez-Zor, airlifting two people trapped along the Deir ez-Zor-Palmyra road where flooding blocked major transport routes, the ministry added.
Mass evacuations underway
Emergency teams evacuated 375 families from three camps in the Raqqa countryside — Sahlat al-Banat, Al-Younani and Al-Maqas — after floodwaters inundated the sites. More than 100 families remain trapped in the Kasrat Surur area following the collapse of a dirt culvert, while search operations continue for those still unaccounted for across the affected governorates.
The ministry said Civil Defense units carried out 165 field responses by 11:30 pm local time Wednesday, receiving more than 350 distress calls and pumping water from over 150 homes and public facilities including two hospitals, schools and bakeries. Seven bridges, culverts and dirt roads have been put out of service across the regions, disrupting traffic and access to rural communities.
Emergency response continues
Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh placed all ministry teams on high alert across Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Hasakah, Hama, Homs and Latakia provinces in response to the severe weather conditions. Large parts of Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor provinces along with eastern areas of Homs, Hama and Aleppo have experienced heavy thunderstorms accompanied by hail and strong winds that triggered overflowing waterways and widespread flooding.
