Floods inundate farmland in eastern Syria, damage crops

LONDON: Floodwaters in the Syrian Arab Republic submerged about 2.5 sq. km of farmland in Deir Ezzor and damaged crops in neighboring Raqqa, where preliminary assessments showed losses exceeding 40 percent in some maize fields, agricultural officials said. Heavy rain over the past two days, accompanied by hail and strong downdraft winds, triggered flash floods across the two provinces, inundating…