Nationwide blackout hits Iraq as heatwave strains power grid
Mohammed Nema, undersecretary for production affairs at the ministry, said technical teams were working to repair the fault and had begun gradually restoring service, which was expected to be fully restored within hours.
Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Musa told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that the outage was caused by an overload in the power system, particularly in Babylon province and the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where millions of pilgrims have gathered for the Arbaeen religious ritual.
He said record-high temperatures, surging demand, and increased electrical loads disconnected transmission lines, cutting more than 6,000 megawatts from the grid. The sudden drop, he added, accelerated the frequency of generating units, triggering their automatic shutdown.
Iraq has been hit by a severe heatwave in recent days, with temperatures reaching around 50 degrees Celsius in several provinces, further straining the country's power supply.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
25 minutes ago
- The Star
'Cooked alive': Europe's wildfires hit tourism spots and forests
MADRID/LISBON (Reuters) -Firefighters across Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans were battling wildfires on Tuesday with another heatwave pushing temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of Europe. Global warming is giving the Mediterranean region hotter, drier summers, scientists say, with wildfires surging each year and sometimes whipping up into "whirls". "We are being cooked alive, this cannot continue," said a mayor in Portugal, Alexandre Favaios, as three fires burned. On the outskirts of the Spanish capital Madrid, a fire killed a man working at a horse stable and reached some houses and farms but was contained by Tuesday, regional authorities said. To the south in Tarifa, on Spain's coast close to Morocco, beachgoers and celebrity chef Jose Andres filmed flames and black smoke on the hills above elegant whitewashed villas. More than 2,000 people were evacuated from Tarifa as the fire - believed to have started in eucalyptus and pine forests - spread, officials said. Helicopters doused the blaze with seawater. In Albania and Montenegro, authorities issued a heatwave warning as temperatures reached 100F (38-39C). Germany issued heat warnings for much of the country on Monday, with temperatures above 86F (30C) expected until Friday. In Italy, red heat alerts were issued for 16 cities while in France, authorities declared red or orange weather alerts for much of the country. In Spain, temperatures were set to reach 111.2F (44C) in some regions, according to meteorology service AEMET. Minimal rainfall and windy conditions were expected to exacerbate the risk. SPANISH MILITARY HELPS Spain's Interior Ministry declared a "pre-emergency", putting national services on standby to support firefighting. Almost 1,000 members of the armed forces are already helping. Spain's largest region, Castile and Leon, had 32 wildfires raging on Tuesday with more than 1,200 firefighters involved. Five of the fires were categorised as a direct threat to nearby populations. In Leon province, around 3,780 residents were evacuated, while over 600 residents of seven towns in Zamora were also ordered to leave their homes. In north Portugal, more than 1,300 firefighters backed by 14 aircraft were battling three large fires. One of them, in the Vila Real area, has been burning for 10 days. Local mayor Favaios pleaded for more government help. "It's been 10 days of extremely hard fight against the flames, 10 days that our population is in panic, without knowing when the fire will knock on their door," he told broadcaster RTP. With two Portuguese waterbombing planes in need of repair, authorities on Monday requested help from Morocco, which sent two replacement planes. A heatwave that brought temperatures of around 40C to north Portugal in the past week showed signs of abating on Tuesday, with rain and thunderstorms expected, according to the weather service IPMA. Across the region in Albania, swathes of forest and farmland have been burnt by wildfires in the past week. Helicopters from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates assisted the Balkan state to contain 19 separate wildfires stoked by strong winds on Tuesday. In neighbouring Montenegro, authorities backed by helicopters from Serbia and Croatia contained a wildfire near the capital Podgorica on Tuesday, with the city covered by smoke. Resident Dragana Vukovic told Reuters against the backdrop of her home's smouldering rafters: "Everything that can be paid for and bought will be compensated, but the memories that burned in these four rooms and the attic cannot be compensated." 'OUT OF CONTROL' In Greece at Europe's southernmost tip, wildfires in some cases fanned by gale-force winds forced the evacuation of several villages and a hotel on the tourist islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia in the Ionian Sea along with four other parts of the mainland. "Winds are strong and the wildfire is out of control," Zakynthos mayor Yiorgos Stasinopoulos told Greek public broadcaster ERT. Another 85 firefighters and 10 aircraft fought to stop a fire reaching houses near the western Greek town of Vonitsa. The picture was similar in Turkey where a large blaze in the northwestern province of Canakkale burned for a second day after hundreds of residents were evacuated in precaution. Wildfires in Canakkale's Ezine and Ayvacik districts, which saw Canakkale airport and the Dardanelles Strait closed on Monday, were largely brought under control by Tuesday. But blazes in the city centre in the southern part of the strait were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said in a post on X. (Reporting by Pietro Lombardi and David Latona in Madrid, Andrei Khalip in Lisbon, Angeliki Koutantou in Athens, Fatos Bytyci in Finiq, Albania, Stevo Vasiljevic in Podgorica; writing by Aislinn Laing, Editing by Rachna Uppal and Andrew Cawthorne)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Drought stalks Serbia, harming livestock
A drone view shows a herd of cattle searching for water amid a severe drought that has dried up Suva Planina mountain's main springs, near the town of Bela Palanka, Serbia August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic SUVA PLANINA, Serbia (Reuters) -A prolonged drought and sweltering heat are taking their toll on villagers, livestock and crops in the mountains of southeastern Serbia, with animals starting to die. Lack of rainfall since May has caused water shortages, wildfires and disruption to agriculture across the Western Balkans, also comprised of Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, At Serbia's Suva Planina (Dry Mountain), owners who take their cows and horses for summer grazing said the springs dried up too early this year. "There's not a drop of water ... animals are starting to die," said Ljubisa Petkovic, a herder from the nearby municipality of Gadzin Han. Around 1,000 thirsty cows and horses milled round a few watering holes and springs, sipping sparse and dirty water from puddles. Temperatures in Serbia on Tuesday stood at around 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) with several wildfires burning. In late July, local authorities, alerted by cattle owners, drove water trucks up the Suva Planina pastures, filled a pond, and pledged to send more. Nikola Manojlovic, 35, said he hoped for more state water supplies and warned that villages in the valley were also suffering from the drought. "Corn has dried up ... we've had no running water in the village for three months now and we have no water here," Manojlovic said. Meteorologists say Serbia may have a spell of rainy weather later this month, but it may not be enough to replenish the small rivers, lakes and creeks needed for the cattle to drink. (Reporting by Branko Filipovicc; Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Wildfires in Spain kill one, force mass evacuations amid heatwave
MADRID: A man died from severe burns as wildfires raged through parts of Spain, driven by strong winds during an intense heatwave. Officials confirmed the victim suffered critical injuries in Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of Madrid, where winds reached 70 kilometres per hour. He later succumbed to his injuries in hospital, marking the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country. Isabel Diaz Ayuso, head of Madrid's regional government, expressed deep regret over the death in a social media post. Hundreds of residents in Tres Cantos were forced to evacuate as flames rapidly advanced. Carlos Novillo, Madrid's environment chief, stated the fire spread six kilometres in just 40 minutes. By Tuesday morning, authorities confirmed the blaze had been brought under control. In southern Andalusia, around 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near Tarifa's beaches. The fire erupted near an area previously affected by another wildfire earlier this month. Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's interior minister, said emergency teams narrowly saved a residential area from destruction. A Civil Guard officer was injured by a car while assisting with evacuations. In Castile and Leon, over 30 fires were reported, including one threatening the UNESCO-listed Las Medulas. Meteorologists warned the heatwave would peak on Tuesday, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius. Night-time temperatures are expected to remain above 25 degrees, worsening fire risks. - AFP
