Syria Floods: Euphrates River Swell After Heavy Rainfall | WION CLIMATE TRACKER

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]And rising water levels in the Euphrates River triggered flooding across northern and eastern Syria over the past two days, prompting authorities to warn residents living along the river banks to move inland. The flooding hit parts of Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces, damaging farmlands, homes, and businesses in areas. This region was already battered earlier this year by clashes between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters. Officials said unusually heavy rainfall this year forced authorities to open several gates at the Euphrates Dam to ease pressure on the structure. State news agency SANA reported that around 1,800 cubic meters of water per second were flowing through the river system, with water levels expected to rise by another 2 meters.

[00:00:43]Displaced families living near the river were hit hard. Listen to this.

[00:00:50]All the tents here are floating in water in Hawija al-Zahra camp. There might be a couple of tents that were not awash, but the majority are. The water came out from underneath.

[00:01:03]Turkey's upstream dams have long controlled the Euphrates flow into Syria and Iraq. In Raqqa, flood waters partially submerged a well-known Greek House restaurant. The owner shared that floodwaters flooded the main hall, and fish could be seen swimming indoors while more than 200 riverside chairs were swept away.

[00:01:26]Well, the flood caused these damages.

[00:01:29]Our losses are huge. The electricity, the fridges, refrigerators, the chairs, more than 200, 300 chairs are swept away by the river. Because in summer, we usually put chairs and tables outside.

[00:01:42]Now, Syria's civil defense warned residents not to swim in the river or use small bridges and boats during the flooding, and urged people to move livestock to higher ground.

[00:02:14]>> Mhm.