At least 24 people have died and 19 are missing after the floods that since Wednesday affected areas near the capital, Tehran, according to official sources.
“Due to heavy rains and flooding in Emamzadeh Davud village in the west, and in Firouzkouh, Roudehen and Damavand areas in eastern Tehran, 24 people died,” the Iranian Red Crescent said in a statement. press.
“Search operations continue for the 19 missing persons,” added the same source.
18 affected provinces
A largely arid country, Iran has suffered repeated droughts over the past decade, but also regular flooding due to torrential rains. A preliminary report provided the day before by the authorities reported seven dead and 14 missing in the tourist town of Emamzadeh Davoud and the Damavand region.
Interviewed by state television, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced on Friday that 18 provinces in the country were affected by the floods, including Mazandaran, Alborz, Markazi, Isfahan, Yazd and Tehran.
According to him, in Yazd, in the center of the country, “roads were flooded, in particular in the historic city” of the city, classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Country particularly exposed to floods
In a text message sent on Thursday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society advised residents to avoid going near rivers and mountainous areas until Monday.
An earlier storm with heavy flooding last week claimed the lives of 22 people in the particularly flood-prone province of Fars (south).
In 2019, heavy rains in southern Iran killed more than 75 people and caused damage estimated at more than two billion dollars.
Source: BFM TV
