Flood Near Tartus, Syria Disrupts Submarine Cables, Latency Spikes Recorded

Flood in Syria: What Happened

On October 15, 2026, at 10:59 local time, a flood warning of "green" level was announced in Syria. The event affected areas near the city of Tartus, located on the Mediterranean coast. This natural phenomenon caused significant changes in the operation of several submarine communication cables passing within a radius of 500 km from the epicenter.

Cables in Flood Zone

The following submarine cables are closest to the flood zone: Ebla (394.1 km from Tartus), UGARIT (239 km, commissioned in 1995), UGARIT 2, Turcyos-2 (213 km, RFS 2011, Turk Telekom), IMEWE (12091 km, RFS 2010, Bharti Airtel and Ogero), BERYTAR (134 km, RFS 1997), Aletar (787 km, RFS 1997) and Medusa Submarine Cable System (8760 km, RFS 2026). Anomalies in signal delay were recorded on six of these cables.

Data Analysis and Identified Anomalies

According to our measurements, the largest anomaly was recorded on the cable Ebla, where the round-trip time (RTT) increased from 6.5 ms to 132.7 ms, representing a jump of 126.2 ms (808.6σ compared to the baseline level). On UGARIT, RTT rose from 17.9 ms to 108.0 ms (+90.2 ms, 2.8σ), and on UGARIT 2 it increased from 11.8 ms to 133.1 ms (+121.2 ms, 5.4σ). The cable Turcyos-2 also showed an increase in RTT from 104.0 ms to 171.3 ms (+67.2 ms, 5.5σ).

The changes on the cables IMEWE and BERYTAR were less significant but still noticeable: RTT increased by 50.3 ms (51.9σ) and 52.7 ms (2.4σ), respectively. Such jumps in latency may indicate potential infrastructure issues or temporary increases in load due to changes in traffic routes.

Impact on Internet Traffic

Floods and related anomalies in the operation of submarine cables may affect internet stability in the region. Increased latency on key cables such as IMEWE and UGARIT may lead to a decrease in service quality for users in countries in the Middle East, as well as on routes between Europe and Asia. Operators that heavily rely on these cables for data transmission are particularly vulnerable.

In addition, given the proximity of some cables to the flood zone, there is a risk of physical damage to infrastructure, which may lead to more serious consequences for global internet traffic.

Plans for Further Monitoring

We will continue to monitor the condition of all submarine cables in the affected area, paying special attention to cables Ebla, UGARIT, and Turcyos-2, which showed the largest deviations in RTT metrics. Physical condition monitoring of cables will also be conducted to detect possible damage promptly.

We will also analyze changes in internet traffic routes to assess how telecommunications operators are adapting to the current situation. In case of further anomalies or worsening conditions, we will provide updated information.