Floodwaters Inflict New Losses in South and SW Iran

EghtesadOnline: Heavy rains that began Monday have led to flash floods in the west and southwest of Iran, causing damage to infrastructure in some provinces.

News ID: ۷۴۹۷۵۴

29 February 2020

In western Lorestan Province, 37 villages are disconnected from the power grid and water supply to 23 villages has been cut off. Gas supply is cut off in Mamulan City, the Energy Ministry news website Paven reported.

One hundred villages in southwestern Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province have no access to electricity, according to Financial Tribune.

Over 120 rescue teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society are helping with relief operations.

Links to some rural areas remain blocked due to long distances from the main roads and it will take some time for relief to reach the affected areas.

Floodwaters in the city of Malayer, Hamedan Province, have caused Kalan Dam, with 45 million cubic meters of water, to overflow.

Average rainfall in many cities in the west and southwest has been around 100 millimeters in the past three days, which is about 50% higher compared to the long-term average.

Due to rising water levels, Khorramrood River in Khorramabad, Capital of Lorestan, is swollen and on the verge of bursting its banks.

The people of the city have been warned and necessary safety measures are in place. Areas around Khorramrood have been evacuated.

Residents in the vicinity of Kashkan and Seymareh rivers in Pol-e Dokhtar and Mamulan cities in Lorestan have been evacuated and sent to safer places.

Deluge in Tehran, Alborz and the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran has continued for three days. Rain turned to snow in Alborz on Wednesday disrupting daily life and creating monstrous traffic.

A Year With Rain

In January, heavy rainfall in southern Hormozgan and southeastern Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces damaged homes, bridges, power and water infrastructure, flooded streets, blocked roads and displaced people.

Before that, other regions in the south had struggled with floodwaters. Widespread flooding hit southern Bushehr and southwestern Khuzestan provinces and Hormozgan between October and December of last year.

In addition to the southern regions, IRCS teams provided relief to other provinces, including Isfahan, Zanjan, Fars, Lorestan, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, South Khorasan and Kohgilouyeh-Buyerahmad, which were affected by severe weather including snowstorms in December.

Devastating floods swept across several provinces last March and April coinciding with the Persian New Year (Nowrouz) festivities.

Heavy rains swelled rivers, washed away bridges, inundated houses and destroyed infrastructure in Kermanshah, Fars, Lorestan, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, Golestan, Mazandaran, North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Hamedan, Semnan and Khuzestan killing 70 people and causing up to 350 trillion rials ($2.5 billion) in material damages.