{"id":138096,"date":"2026-06-01T10:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=138096"},"modified":"2026-06-01T10:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:20:49","slug":"euphrates-floodwaters-sweep-away-harvests-homes-in-deir-ez-zor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/138096\/","title":{"rendered":"Euphrates floodwaters sweep away harvests, homes in Deir ez-Zor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> Hamad al-Khalif had barely finished celebrating the end of a long and exhausting harvest season when disaster struck. After spending a hot afternoon gathering his wheat harvest, he woke the next morning to find months of labor submerged beneath the waters of the Euphrates River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the town of al-Kishkiyah in eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside, eastern Syria, riverbanks that only days earlier had been bustling with harvesting activity have been transformed into vast stretches of floodwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sudden surge followed the opening of spillway gates at Euphrates Dam, sending large volumes of water downstream without prior warning, residents say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing beside his flooded land, al-Khalif described the devastation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI harvested the land and gathered the crop, and now the harvest is submerged in water. I harvested yesterday afternoon, but I was unable to transport it this morning,\u201d he told North Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not have a vehicle to move it. This is the harvest from 7 dunums of land, and I am waiting for the Euphrates waters to recede so I can collect the crop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of dunums affected<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Al-Khalif’s loss reflects a broader disaster affecting the region. Residents estimate that approximately 1,500 dunums of farmland in al-Kishkiyah alone have been completely damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flooding comes after months of intensive work and significant financial investment by farmers already struggling with fuel shortages and rising production costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe loss is approximately $1,500, including planting and harvesting costs. We call on the government to compensate the workers and cover the losses we have suffered,\u201d al-Khalif said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The damage extends beyond crops. Floodwaters have inundated poultry farms and trapped agricultural machinery and threshing equipment that had been preparing for the harvest season, making their removal impossible as water levels continue to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families displaced<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere in the town, the situation is even more severe. Floodwaters have spread into homes located near the riverbank, forcing families to abandon their properties and seek shelter elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khaled al-Abdullah, a resident of al-Kishkiyah, believes the disaster could have been mitigated through better planning and coordination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have some criticism of the officials,\u201d he told North Press. \u201cThere should have been better coordination. Instead of opening the dam all at once, there should have been prior coordination with Turkey. Rather than opening five or six gates of the dam, only two should have been opened. Then there would not have been so much damage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Abdullah called for immediate intervention by the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As floodwaters continue to spread and no immediate solutions emerge, frustration is mounting among residents, many of whom say they have yet to see rescue teams or official assessment committees arrive to evaluate the scale of the disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmad al-Ali, another resident of al-Kishkiyah, described conditions in the area as catastrophic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for the Shaitat area, the situation is extremely dire,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople have lost a great deal; projects have been destroyed, and agricultural lands and homes have been flooded. We call on the officials and the relevant authorities to come, assess the situation here, and address it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressing the despair felt by many residents, al-Ali questioned why the area appeared to have been overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one cares about the residents, and no one has come to us. We want them to explain what is happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShould we leave for Iraq? The floodwaters have risen, and nothing remains\u2014no homes, orchards, or farms. Poultry farms have been damaged, and there are homes that we can no longer reach. There are crops we cannot access. Harvesters were operating there but became trapped by the floodwaters, and we are unable to remove them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ali al-Beki\u2019  <\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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