The Syrian capital’s Adra district was left devastated by flooding caused by the collapse of the al-Dumayr dam in the western Damascus countryside on Saturday.
An official told Asharq Al-Awsat: “A real catastrophe has taken place in the Adra suburb and in the industrial city.”
Adra is seen as a vital district in attempts to revitalize Syria’s economy that has been ravaged by years of war.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that a technical malfunction caused the collapse.
The dam has a capacity of 2.150 million liters and lies some 14 kms away from the industrial city. Dam workers were swept away by the rushing waters and many remain missing.
The losses are estimated a millions of dollars, said the official.
Residents of the industrial city were left trapped by the floods for several hours before rescue teams could reach them.
The SANA state news agency reported that two children and a youth in the towns of Deir Muqrin and Kafir Zeit in Wadi Barada were killed. Dozens of houses were also damaged.
Damascus and its suburbs witnessed similar devastating floods last year.
This year’s flooding was compounded by the blockage of drainage pipes.
The Damascus chamber of industry blamed the flooding on poor planning in the city and the rescue teams’ lack of preparedness.
It demanded that authorities take the necessary measures to avert such disasters in the future and to compensate those affected by the flooding.
