Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday instructed local authorities to take all necessary measures to protect citizens following floods that claimed two lives, after speaking with Erbil Governor Omed Xoshnaw.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also thanked emergency response teams for their efforts and directed authorities to take all necessary measures to protect citizens and their property.

Following heavy rainfall and flooding in Erbil and surrounding areas on Saturday, a 25-year-old man driving a shovel loader who had volunteered to help rescue residents in the Seberdan neighbourhood was swept away by floodwaters and died, Erbil Governor Xoshnaw told reporters today.

Moreover, he said that a five-year-old child who was in a car with his father survived, but the child's whereabouts remain unknown. Later reports suggested the child drowned in the flooding.