Deadly storm sparks wildfires, power outages in Erbil

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, a severe storm sparkled multiple fires in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region, causing material damage and casualties.

The storm was marked by high winds and lightning, ignited a major blaze in the village of Mastawa, where between 70 to 80 dunams of farmland were consumed by flames within minutes.

Another fire broke out today in the area between Mastawa and a neighboring village, destroying an additional eight dunams before it was brought under control, according to Osman, a resident.

Across Erbil province, the storm caused at least six other fires after several power transformers were knocked down. In one neighborhood, several children sustained injuries when a swing collapsed due to the powerful winds.

In Ankawa, a predominantly Christian district, the upper section of Mar Yousef Church sustained structural damage amid the storm.

The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Electricity reported technical malfunctions in the power grid, leading to outages across several neighborhoods. Restoration efforts are currently underway.

Meanwhile, local authorities confirmed that one person was killed and two others injured in a separate fire in the village of Sorbash, near the Shamamk subdistrict.