IRGC chief in flood-hit areas again as Iran prepares for more rainfall

A fresh wave of heavy downpours and flash floods is expected to hit a number of provinces in Iran within the next couple of days, officials have warned, as relief efforts by the government and armed forces are still underway in the areas struck by the recent flooding.

The warnings were issued by the Iran Meteorological Organization and the police, who urged Iranian people in all parts of the country to avoid going on trips during the ongoing Nowruz holidays, especially on Sunday and Monday.

The new wave of heavy downpours will come a few days after the first wave hit various parts of the country, leaving many people dead, wounded, and displaced.

The heavy rains have triggered raging torrents of water in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces since March 19.

The death toll from the recent flash floods across the country currently stands at 42, Ahmad Shojaee, the head of Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, said on Saturday.

The majority of the victims were killed in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran and Golestan province in the north, the official said, putting the death tolls in the two regions at 19 and 7, respectively.

Five people have died in Mazandaran province, two in North Khorasan, two in Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, two in Lorestan, one in Khuzestan, one in semnan, one in Khorasan Razavi (Mashhad), one in Hamedan (Malayer), and one in Kermanshah province (Sarpol-e Zahab), he said.

IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari on Saturday paid his second visit to Golestan province, particularly the hard-hit towns of Aq Qala and Gamishan, to monitor the situation in person.

During the past few days, President Hassan Rouhani has also visited Golestan and Khuzestan provinces to personally oversee the disaster relief operations in the two affected areas.

The deluge has inflicted heavy losses on a number of agricultural and farming industries, as well as tribal stockraising units. It has inundated many businesses and warehouses, and damaged or destroyed a large number of residential units in disaster areas.

* To join the national rescue effort for flood victims, you can check the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s donation page here.