Heavy rainstorm has triggered flooding and destruction in Iraq leading to the death of a toddler. Flood water swept away a three-year-old girl at a camp for displaced people near Tuz Khurmatu.
According to AFP, the storm damaged at least 500 tent houses in Amriyat al-Fallujah, a town in Anbar just west of Baghdad causing the evacuation of 1,000 families.
The meteorological department recorded 54 millimetres of rainfall in the Baghdad region in 24 hours. The severe weather prompted the government to declare a national holiday on Thursday.
Weather forecasts predicted more thunderstorms for Friday and next week.