TEHRAN -- Flooding in Iran’s northern Golestan province has killed at least four people and left two women missing, as rescue teams searched for a second body Sunday and access to about 20 villages remained cut off in the Minudasht region.
The fatalities mark the deadliest toll from a wave of heavy rainfall that has produced 35 damaging floods across the country in roughly 18 days, according to the National Disaster Management Organization.
Two women went missing in the village of Tarsah in Minudasht after floodwaters swept through the area. The body of one — the mother of one of the missing — was recovered at 12:50 p.m. local time, according to Reza Hajilari, deputy head of rescue operations for the Golestan branch of the Red Crescent.
Eight teams, including five water search units and three support teams with 36 operational and volunteer personnel, were still searching for the second woman Sunday afternoon, Hajilari said. Drones and ground searches were being used, with participation from the Red Crescent, Basij forces and other emergency agencies.
Alireza Mostafalou, the governor of Minudasht, said roads to 20 villages in the central and Kuhsarat districts had been severed, with initial reports pointing to damage concentrated on transport routes and rural roads.
Abdolghafour Gharavi, director-general of Golestan’s crisis management department, said 14 villages near Minudasht and Qaleh Qafeh lost road access, power was 

cut to 19 villages, and five villages in Ramian district faced road closures. Four villages in Galikesh’s Parsian district were also affected.
Adel Mosaddeqi, director-general of roads and road transport for Golestan, said 35 operational teams and 89 light, heavy and semi-heavy vehicles were clearing sediment, rocks and debris. 
Two main routes remained closed — Minudasht to Qaleh Qafeh near the Chehel Chai gorge, and Gonbad-e Kavous to the Kalaleh junction at the Bayler bridge — due to swollen rivers. Authorities urged travelers to call the 141 hotline before setting out.
Aman Muhammad Kamali, director-general of meteorology for Golestan, said the Qaleh Qafeh station in Minudasht recorded 147 millimeters of rain — the highest in the country — followed by Pa Qaleh in Ramian with 145 millimeters. Zarin Gol Aliabad and Jafarabad in Gorgan each recorded 100 millimeters.
The province’s water and wastewater company said parts of supply and distribution facilities in several cities and villages had gone offline because of energy disruptions, with operational and technical teams working around the clock to restore service.
Omid Mohtaram, spokesman for the Interior Ministry’s crisis management body, said 2,800 operational teams and 1,750 pieces of engineering machinery were on standby in affected provinces over the past 48 hours.
In Mazandaran, the Kalikala area of Savadkuh recorded 145 millimeters of rain. Two bridges were destroyed in North Savadkuh, roads in the Lafour district suffered landslides, 12 homes were flooded and five agricultural intakes were damaged.
In Semnan, 25 homes were flooded in Husseinabad Kalpush after 62 millimeters of rain. In Ardabil, flooding in Germi and Angut killed 75 livestock and inundated nearly 70 homes. In North Khorasan, 18 homes were flooded and routes to 17 villages were blocked.
Nationwide rainfall since the start of the water year is up 53.8 percent against the long-term average, with West Azerbaijan recording the largest increase at 145 percent.