In recent years, repeated cycles of intense drought followed by flash floods have led to deaths and the devastation of local infrastructure.
In a vast, largely rural state where people rely on two-lane highways and aging bridges to go about daily life, the devastation of basic infrastructure promised to be an expensive and long-term challenge.
"Iraq had the wealth to rebuild," she says, "but the devastation of the infrastructure and then the almost total cut-off of exports and imports, meant that Iraq was - in the words of a UN envoy - reduced to a pre-industrial state and then was kept, more or less, close to that condition for over a decade after". The debates on how many perished, especially children, continue to this day.
During armed conflict, the well-being of women is threatened by physical, sexual and psychological abuse, and vital maternal care services are typically disrupted by the devastation of health infrastructure.
Due to the devastation of the health infrastructure in key cities in the area the Department of Health had lost almost all its health facilities and as a result, there was only very limited capacity to vaccinate children.
Part of the reason appears to be that it's easier and cheaper to do so amid the devastation and the breakdown of infrastructure on the island.
Meanwhile, the death toll in eastern Ukraine continues to rise; UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, recently described the conflict as a "merciless devastation of civilian lives and infrastructure".
As someone who as a teenager and young adult witnessed the terrible impact of the Vietnam War at home and abroad, I cannot believe that we are going down the same road again: countless deaths and casualties and the devastation of a nation's infrastructure, while our inglorious leaders assure us of victory.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said it painted a picture of "merciless devastation of civilian lives and infrastructure".
Conditions worsening daily UNICEF's relief efforts to date have been severely hampered by the escalation of violence and the devastation of Lebanon's transport infrastructure.
