Flash floods kill five in Syria

Heavy rains have been pouring over several Syrian provinces, leaving at least five people dead, including four children, in northern and eastern regions.

The four children all drowned in bodies of water across Raqqa and Deir Az Zor governorates, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said in a statement on Thursday.

A man also died when his car was caught in floodwaters near al-Salmani Bridge in the western Raqqa countryside.

Five others, including two children, remain missing in the storms that have drenched the country.

Thursday marked the second day the ministry recorded responses to flooding across the country. It continues to issue situation updates on its X account.

The ministry reported infrastructure damage and disruptions to several bridges in affected areas: Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, Hasakah and Homs.

State news agency SANA said al-Salmani Bridge, west of Tabqa, collapsed in the flooding, shutting the road linking Raqqa to Aleppo.

Emergency teams also reported rescuing 15 civilians whose vehicles were trapped by floodwaters. The ministry said it evacuated approximately 375 families from three camps on the rural outskirts of Raqqa.

This is not the first time the country has faced the threat of heavy rains and the flooding that follows.

UNICEF reported in June that 17,000 people had been adversely affected by flooding so far in the year. At the time, the UN agency said 700 families had been displaced, including around 2,000 children, and that 49 water treatment plants in Deir Az Zor and Raqqa governorates had also gone out of service.