TEHRAN – Following devastating floods across Iran, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday thanked officials for their quick presence in the affected areas and efforts of relief groups to help victims as he demanded continuation of those operations.
“The terrible and damaging flood incident in many parts of the country has caused many of our dear people to suffer life, financial and emotional injuries. Expressing my deep sympathy with all those loved ones, I offer my condolences to the victims of this accident and demand necessary measures from the respected authorities of the country to repair damages,” the Leader said in a message.
“I need to thank the officials for their quick presence in the flooded areas and also for the efforts of the civil or officially responsible relief groups for helping the flood victims. It is the duty of all of us to continue these pious actions and to continuously try to reduce the effects of these painful events. I ask God Almighty for everyone’s success.”
Deputy Interior Minister Muhammad Hassan Nami said Saturday the death toll from severe storms, mudslides, and flooding in Iran had risen to 61, with 44 others missing in a week of torrential rainfall across the country.
“Any area can be the target of precipitations and cloud masses. People should pay attention not to be in the path of rivers or around them and avoid being in unstable environments,” he said.
At least 37 people died in two villages, northwest and northeast of Tehran, after the monsoon dumped heavy rains that triggered mudslides there. Almost two dozen people died in eight other provinces and 21 out of Iran’s 31 provinces were affected by the heavy rains.
Nami said 19 people died in Imamzadeh Davood and 16 others in Firouz Kooh, in the foothills of Alborz Mountains northeast of the capital Tehran.
On Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Firouz Kooh, ordering the governor of Tehran province to take action to eliminate deficiencies and submit a report after complaints by locals about the lack of facilities.
“Unfortunately, with the three people who died in Mazandaran province due to the flood, the death toll has reached 56, with 18 others missing,” said head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society Mehdi Valipour on Saturday.
Valipour said Lorestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Isfahan, Yazd and Tehran are the worst hit provinces. In the Damavand region, the Red Crescent Society warned people in phone messages to avoid rivers and mountainous areas until Monday.
More than 3,700 people have so far been provided with emergency accommodation, he said, adding about 2,500 others have been rescued and transferred to safer places.
Military personnel have joined rescue efforts and are helping transfer thousands from remote areas to safety.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi ordered Tehran governor to mobilize all relief authorities, including the Red Crescent, the municipality and the Crisis Mitigation Headquarters, to expedite rescue operations and draw up necessary plans to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
Last Saturday, flash floods in Iran’s drought-stricken southern
Fars province killed at least 22 people and affected about a dozen villages in the province.
This week’s storm is the deadliest among Iran’s rain-related incidents in the last decade. In 2019, a flashflood killed at least 21 people in the southern city of Shiraz, and two years earlier, a similar storm claimed 48 lives in northwestern Iran.
However, mudslides in northern Iran in 2001 and in Tehran in 1987 killed 500 and 300 people, respectively.
Before Thursday’s mudslide, authorities had warned residents of Tehran’s mountainous areas about heavy rains and possible floods. More heavy rains were expected in the coming days.
Authorities have blamed the high death toll on a wide disregard of safety measures by people who venture out in the storms while critics cite mismanagement in construction projects as well as late warnings as other causes.