basric

COLLAPSE

The constant rain was relentless. Five weeks the downpour came, raising lakes and rivers. People fled from homes barely escaping with their lives.

Firemen and volunteers worked twenty-four hours non-stop to rescue stranded homeowners caught in flash floods. Some could not be saved. The waters from the river just rose too quickly from runoff from higher ground.

Volunteers breathed a sigh of relief. The rain lessened to a drizzle, then stopped altogether. The waters receded back into it banks. People were allowed to return home.

Then without warning, the major bridge crossing the mile-wide river collapsed during the morning commute.