Concerns in Damascus after Limits on Bread Distribution

A Syrian man, wearing a protective face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, waits for customers at his bakery in the Qaymariyya quarter of the Old City of the capital Damascus on April 14, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
A Syrian man, wearing a protective face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, waits for customers at his bakery in the Qaymariyya quarter of the Old City of the capital Damascus on April 14, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Concerns in Damascus after Limits on Bread Distribution

A Syrian man, wearing a protective face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, waits for customers at his bakery in the Qaymariyya quarter of the Old City of the capital Damascus on April 14, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
A Syrian man, wearing a protective face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, waits for customers at his bakery in the Qaymariyya quarter of the Old City of the capital Damascus on April 14, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Despite rising poverty in areas under the control of the Syrian government and the coronavirus pandemic, the regime has insisted on delivering subsidized bread using a “smart card.”

Citizens considered this decision an act of treason because it crosses the “red lines” that the ruling Baath Party itself had put, at a time when experts consider the move a first step toward removing the subsidy on bread similar to other commodities.

After people queued outside bakeries in Damascus at the start of the war, the phenomenon is back and is getting worse as the government takes precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus. This was accompanied by bakeries announcing that they would no longer operate during unusual hours, an indication of a shortage in flour supplies from the government.

A rejection and calls

These government hints were met with rejection on social media platforms and included calls for President Bashar Assad to intervene and halt the new move after the failed and bitter experience of acquiring gas, fuel and other main food supplies such as sugar, rice, vegetable oil and tea using the “smart card”.

Although the regime had announced that each family is entitled to one gas tank every 23 days, many families confirm that they have not received one for 75 days. Many household providers spend an entire day in front of government institutions to receive sugar, rice, vegetable oil and tea, and may not even get them the same day. If they do, they may not receive all of them.

Treason

Loay is a citizen who like many others was following what Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Minister Atef Naddaf was going to say. He told Asharq Al-Awsat, “Aren't a war, inflation, poverty and the coronavirus enough? The government has betrayed the people and has started to fight them with a loaf of bread, a primary and indispensable material”.

A margin for manipulation

Noteworthy in al-Naddaf’s speech is his announcement that “each commissioner is entitled to 10% of the amount to deliver to families and people who do not own a “smart card” after his name and national number are registered”! This could allow agents to largely manipulate what happens to this amount.

Without mentioning how many of them are available, al-Naddaf talked about “increasing the number of electronic car readers in bakeries,” amid information that Damascus would need 1,000 devices while only 100 are available. This will lead to large crowds in front of areas that do have the card reader, knowing that each device costs more than 450,000 Syrian pounds.

Prices higher than the rest of the world

An economic expert who spoke with Asharq Al-Awsat and preferred to remain anonymous, indicated that “there is a chance that the decision could be preparatory to ending the subsidy on bread altogether.”

He pointed out that “similar scenarios had happened with other subsidized commodities such as gas, oil and fuel, where they were rationed and then their prices spiked to become higher than in the international market. A kilogram of sugar in the international markets is less than 20 US cents, equivalent to 220 Syrian pounds, whereas in Syria it currently costs 600 pounds!”

Before 2011, Syria used to produce millions of tons of wheat every year and could export 1.5 million tons. An international report estimated that the production of wheat last year was only around 1.2 million tons, the lowest number in 29 years, while some sources indicate that it had only received 500,000 tons and that production may drop even further in 2020.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.