Iraq and Flood Problems
Dr. Tuğba Evrim Maden, ORSAM Water Research Programme Specialist,
While Iraq, the downstream neighbor of Turkey’s Euphrates and Tigris rivers, frequently form the agenda regarding water shortage, it has recently taken its place on the agenda with flood news.
With precipitations occurring heavily in short periods and sudden and early snow melts taking place with rising temperature, floods have been observed in certain periods from the past to the present in the river basin of particularly the Euphrates and Tigris whose flow rate varies. While global climate change influence the precipitation regimes, it can also cause rapid snow melts and change the interval of the periods. Moreover, in Iraq, which has experienced long periods of war, water structures that have been damaged in terms of structure can also remain insufficient in storing flood waters.
Floods in the Tigris River are seen between February – June while they are seen in March and July in the Euphrates. In “The Mail” newspaper dated 25 May 1929, the floods occurring in Iraq have been addressed and individuals living for many years in Baghdad have indicated that a great flood occurring in 1919 had threatened the capital city of Baghdad and that floods take place periodically in the river basins of the Tigris and Euphrates. From the information obtained from FAO2, the Tigris River, especially during periods of floods, can rise by 30 cm. per hour. While Iraq, experiencing flood problems, implement projects on water resources, in the early periods it had constructed dams for the purpose of controlling floods. Later on, energy and irrigation purposes have started coming to the fore in the construction of dams. It is also indicated that one of the purposes of the Tharthar Lake project in particular, whose construction had been completed in 1956, was to protect the capital of Baghdad from floods. The lake which allowed water flow from the Tigris River to the Euphrates in the 1970’s has been criticized for damaging the quality of water by creating salinity in the Euphrates River.
While Iraq, experiencing flood problems, implement projects on water resources, in the early periods it had constructed dams for the purpose of controlling floods. Later on, energy and irrigation purposes have started coming to the fore in the construction of dams.
In Iraq, which has a surface area of 438.320 km2, cultivated land exists in two regions. The first region is the mountainous regions and plateaus in Northern Iraq where there is plentiful of precipitation, while the second region consists of the irrigation lands existing in Baghdad and Ramadi along the shore of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Opposite to the north of Iraq, water being provided is not seasonally steady in the south and while floods originating from the Tigris particularly in the spring can be regarded as a benefit for producers of rice, it causes great harm to the products to be harvested in the summer and especially to the city of Baghdad. These floods also cause salinity in the soil. Soil salinity can only be prevented with water existing at the right time and at the right place.
The great flood that took place in February 2006 caused create damages to the cities of Arbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Salahaddin, Tameem, Kirkuk, Diyala, Missan, Wasit and Kut in Iraq. In order for the damages to be compensated, the Organizations of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have gathered aid of approximately 1.3 million dollars.
Since January this year, floods have occurred first in Southern Iraq and following it, since the beginning of this month, in the north of Iraq due to heavy precipitations. During the floods caused by precipitation that occurred the most heavily in the last 30 years and whose consequence had been experienced in the winter, the Tigris River has rose approximately 5 meters and the greatest flow since the last 50 years has been witnessed. Especially in the northern cities of Iraq, state of emergency has been declared against floods. In 230 villages situated in the regions of Wasit, Dhi Qar and Maysan, measures have been taken against the problem of floods that would occur as a result of heavy precipitations. According to information obtained from news sources, it has been learned that two small dams have collapsed due to the floods. Moreover, it has also been indicated that consolidation works are being performed in the dams against floods. Opening of drainage channels for the drainage of extreme flows formed in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is also another piece of information that has been obtained.
According to their hydrologic features, the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates can display great changes in their flow over the years. Throughout history, periods of great drought and great flood have been experienced in this basin and these processes have been felt the most intensively in Syria and Iraq. Actually, the dams, which have been exposed to Turkey’s constant criticisms, organize storages and the flows of the two rivers having unsteady flow in times of drought and flood in a way that would be beneficial to both Syria and Iraq.
With precipitations occurring heavily in short periods and sudden and early snow melts taking place with rising temperature, floods have been observed in certain periods from the past to the present in the river basin of particularly the Euphrates and Tigris whose flow rate varies. While global climate change influence the precipitation regimes, it can also cause rapid snow melts and change the interval of the periods. Moreover, in Iraq, which has experienced long periods of war, water structures that have been damaged in terms of structure can also remain insufficient in storing flood waters.
Floods in the Tigris River are seen between February – June while they are seen in March and July in the Euphrates. In “The Mail” newspaper dated 25 May 1929, the floods occurring in Iraq have been addressed and individuals living for many years in Baghdad have indicated that a great flood occurring in 1919 had threatened the capital city of Baghdad and that floods take place periodically in the river basins of the Tigris and Euphrates. From the information obtained from FAO2, the Tigris River, especially during periods of floods, can rise by 30 cm. per hour. While Iraq, experiencing flood problems, implement projects on water resources, in the early periods it had constructed dams for the purpose of controlling floods. Later on, energy and irrigation purposes have started coming to the fore in the construction of dams. It is also indicated that one of the purposes of the Tharthar Lake project in particular, whose construction had been completed in 1956, was to protect the capital of Baghdad from floods. The lake which allowed water flow from the Tigris River to the Euphrates in the 1970’s has been criticized for damaging the quality of water by creating salinity in the Euphrates River.
While Iraq, experiencing flood problems, implement projects on water resources, in the early periods it had constructed dams for the purpose of controlling floods. Later on, energy and irrigation purposes have started coming to the fore in the construction of dams.
In Iraq, which has a surface area of 438.320 km2, cultivated land exists in two regions. The first region is the mountainous regions and plateaus in Northern Iraq where there is plentiful of precipitation, while the second region consists of the irrigation lands existing in Baghdad and Ramadi along the shore of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Opposite to the north of Iraq, water being provided is not seasonally steady in the south and while floods originating from the Tigris particularly in the spring can be regarded as a benefit for producers of rice, it causes great harm to the products to be harvested in the summer and especially to the city of Baghdad. These floods also cause salinity in the soil. Soil salinity can only be prevented with water existing at the right time and at the right place.
The great flood that took place in February 2006 caused create damages to the cities of Arbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah, Salahaddin, Tameem, Kirkuk, Diyala, Missan, Wasit and Kut in Iraq. In order for the damages to be compensated, the Organizations of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have gathered aid of approximately 1.3 million dollars.
Since January this year, floods have occurred first in Southern Iraq and following it, since the beginning of this month, in the north of Iraq due to heavy precipitations. During the floods caused by precipitation that occurred the most heavily in the last 30 years and whose consequence had been experienced in the winter, the Tigris River has rose approximately 5 meters and the greatest flow since the last 50 years has been witnessed. Especially in the northern cities of Iraq, state of emergency has been declared against floods. In 230 villages situated in the regions of Wasit, Dhi Qar and Maysan, measures have been taken against the problem of floods that would occur as a result of heavy precipitations. According to information obtained from news sources, it has been learned that two small dams have collapsed due to the floods. Moreover, it has also been indicated that consolidation works are being performed in the dams against floods. Opening of drainage channels for the drainage of extreme flows formed in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is also another piece of information that has been obtained.
According to their hydrologic features, the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates can display great changes in their flow over the years. Throughout history, periods of great drought and great flood have been experienced in this basin and these processes have been felt the most intensively in Syria and Iraq. Actually, the dams, which have been exposed to Turkey’s constant criticisms, organize storages and the flows of the two rivers having unsteady flow in times of drought and flood in a way that would be beneficial to both Syria and Iraq.
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