Syrian Civil Defense rescues 15 as floods kill at least 5

Syrian Civil Defense teams rescued 15 civilians trapped in vehicles by floodwater, Syria’s emergency ministry said.

Flooding in northern and eastern Syria had killed at least 5 people, with 5 others, including 2 children, still missing by 30 October 2026, Al Jazeera said. Heavy rain also damaged bridges and disrupted roads across several provinces.

Syria’s Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said in its October 29 statement that 4 children drowned in bodies of water across Raqqa and Deir Az Zor governorates. Separately, a man died when his car was caught in floodwater near al-Salmani Bridge in western rural Raqqa. The ministry’s initial information about the fatal traffic accident was preliminary.

Rescue teams were already deployed across affected provinces by 28 October. October 29 marked the ministry’s second day of recorded flood responses.

Rescues and blocked routes

The emergency ministry said Syrian Civil Defense teams evacuated approximately 375 families from 3 camps in rural Raqqa after water entered the sites.

SANA, cited by Al Jazeera, said al-Salmani Bridge, west of Tabqa, collapsed in the flooding, shutting the road linking Raqqa and Aleppo. The ministry also identified infrastructure damage and bridge disruption in Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Az Zor, Hasakah and Homs.

The ministry said flooding had made 7 bridges, culverts—crossings that carry drainage water—and unpaved roads unusable. SANA also said 3 bridges over seasonal waterways in Deir Az Zor and its countryside were out of service.

The ministry said teams prioritized life-threatening emergencies before property damage and restoring access to roads and essential facilities. Civil Defense crews pumped water from homes and public buildings, including hospitals, schools and bakeries, cleared drainage channels and worked to reopen blocked roads.

Earlier damage and preparations for more rain

Flooding had already affected Syria earlier in the year. In June, UNICEF said 17,000 people had been adversely affected up to that point, and 700 families had been displaced, including around 2,000 children. The agency also said 49 water treatment plants in Deir Az Zor and Raqqa had gone out of service.

In its October 29 update, the emergency ministry said operations were continuing. Civil Defense teams had increased their readiness along Syria’s coast ahead of further heavy rainfall.