Severe flooding caused by rising water levels on the Euphrates River has displaced hundreds of families and claimed several lives in Syria.
Local officials said on Friday that four children died in the province of Deir ez-Zor after being swept away by the strong currents of the Euphrates. A man also drowned in the neighboring province of Raqqa, the officials added.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, thousands of people have been displaced. The monitor warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Syrian authorities reported that approximately 24,000 hectares of farmland, 265 government buildings, and about 60 civilian facilities have been damaged in Deir ez-Zor.
The flooding is a consequence of unusually heavy rainfall in the region over the past weeks and months, including in neighbouring Turkey.
Due to extremely high water levels at the dams in the region, particularly at the Atatürk Dam, Turkish authorities had to release enormous volumes of water downstream in a controlled manner.
To prevent their own facilities from being overloaded, Syrian operators also opened major dams to record levels. The water level rose abruptly, flooding vast stretches of the riverbanks.
Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir accused Turkey of warning Syrian authorities too late about the rising water levels in the Euphrates.
Meanwhile, Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, visited the affected areas to assess the damage and humanitarian needs, the state news agency SANA reported.
The director general of the Euphrates Dam, Haitham Bakur, told dpa that water levels should recede within two days. Turkey has since closed the sluice gates.