Iran hit with 3rd major flood in 2 weeks – “The water has risen by as much as three meters in parts”
TEHRAN, 1 April 2019 (Agence France-Presse) – The authorities on Monday ordered the immediate evacuation of flood-stricken cities in western Iran as rivers burst banks, dams overflowed and vast areas were cut off from communication.
The highest level of alert was declared in Lorestan Province with four or five cities “completely critical,” state television reported from Khorramabad, the provincial capital.
“In Khorramabad the water has risen by as much as three meters in parts,” the television broadcast said, with reports elsewhere of areas “completely submerged with residents stranded on their rooftops.”
The Red Crescent’s provincial director, Sarem Rezaee, said his organization had lost contact with much of the region.
“Telephones are not working, our radio communications are down,” he was quoted by state television as saying. “At this moment we have no news of other cities and villages.” […]
This is the third major flood to hit Iran in the past two weeks after heavy rainfalls in the mostly arid country, which had endured a prolonged drought until this year.
The first flood struck the northeast of the country on 19 March 2019 and the second hit the west and southwest on 25 March 2019, with a combined reported death toll of 45 people. [more]
Iran Hit With 3rd Major Flood in 2 Weeks
Iran calls emergency in flood-threatened southwest province
DUBAI, 30 March 2019 (Reuters) – Iran said on Saturday it faced an emergency in a southwestern province threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported.
Some 56 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan may have to be evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain, the provincial governor, Gholamreza Shariati, told state television.
“Some residents are resisting (evacuation calls) because of their livestock … and because they’ve experienced similar circumstances in the past,” Shariati said, adding Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had agreed to call an emergency in Khuzestan.
Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to “control floodwaters and to minimize possible damage”.
“It’s estimated that in the next five days about three billion cubic meters of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall … 1.8 billion of which (is above capacity and) will have to be released,” he told state television. [more]
