The Common Ills: Nouri's Iraq exposed by the heavy rainfall

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Nouri's Iraq exposed by the heavy rainfall

The 1945 classic film noir Mildred Pierce (for which Joan Crawford, above, won the Best Actress Academy Award) went through an assembly line of re-writes before filming. After Louise Randall Pierson did a polish, novelist William Faulkner took a turn. Most of his touches didn't make it into the shooting script -- including his suggestion that the film be retitled House on the Sand to portray Mildred's sinking beach house (and all that took place there) as connected (meaning the characters' actions bring the house down).

I mention that because Nouri's Iraq has suffered severe rainfall and rain damage in recent weeks, flooding, structures crumbling.

All Iraq News notes that Baghdad is receiving the most rainfall it's seen in thirty years. Alsumaria adds that the last days alone have seen the amount of rainfall Baghdad usually receives in a full year (note the picture of the three men walking down the street with water up to their knees). Kitabat notes that the rain is destroying the infrastructure (check out the photo of the man who's apparently trying to get home with bags of groceries).

This is not just due to rainfall. This is also the result of Iraq's crumbling infrastructure -- infrastructure Nouri al-Maliki has had six years to address and he's done nothing.

Alsumaria notes yesterday's rains have caused 3 deaths and two people to be injured in Baghdad -- two deaths from a house collapsing due to the rain and one from electrical death (with two more injured in that as well) and that main streets in the capital are sinking. All Iraq News notes Baghdad has been placed on high alert because of the torrential rains.

You could mistake Baghdad for Venice in this All Iraq News photo essay which notes that students are forced to walk through the high standing water to get to schools. They also note of Tuesday's rainfall: Baghdad had the most yesterday (67 mm) followed by Hilla, Azizia and Karbala (rainfall was also recorded in Samawa, Rifai and Basra -- of those three, Basra was the highest and Baghdad's rainfall was three times Basra's). It's not just Baghdad. Alsumaria notes that after ten house collapses in Wasit Province village, the Iraqi Red Crescent began evacuating the entire village. Dar Addustour notes Nouri issued a statement yesterday that he's going to oversee a committee that will try to address the situation.

Now he's doing that? Dropping back to the November 21st snapshot:

In Iraq, the rains have been falling with significant consequences. Tuesday, All Iraq News reported that the rest of the week would be rainy and foggy. And Iraq had already seen heavy rain fall. Sadr City was one of the areas effected. Joseph Muhammadwi and Mahmoud Raouf (Al Mada) reported on the flooding of Sadr City and included a photo of the water up to the frame of a mini-van. Despite the flooding and continuing heavy rains, traffic police stand outside directing vehicles. One resident jokes that Nouri can replace the food-ration cards with free small boats. The water's flooded the streets and also gone into homes and schools and a makeshift bridge of bricks has been constructed to allow access to one school. Dar Addustour noted that many of the cities, such as Kut, have been hit with the heavy rains. Baghdad residents protested the lack of public services -- proper sanitation (i.e. drainage) would alleviate a great deal of the standing water. Nouri's had six years to address Baghdad's sewer system and done nothing. AFP reports today the heavy rains in Kut led to houses collapsing resulting in the death of six children and leaving one adult male injured.