Meanwhile, President Ahmadi-nejad told the Oil Ministry to help the Tehran Metro clear out all the water from the Line 4 tunnel.
The office of Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf put the total damage from the tunnel flooding at 210 billion rials, which would be only $17 million at the official rate of exchange, a startling low damage estimate.
The three underground stations were completely flooded and their control rooms engulfed in mud and water. The electrical systems were caked in mud, making it difficult to believe the damage could be so little—or that the line could reopen after less than two weeks.
The city has said it will increase the length of drainage canals in the capital to try to prevent a recurrence. However, the reports last week didn’t blame the Metro flood on too little drainage capacity, but rather on a breach in a canal wall where the canal crossed above Line 4.
The city said it now has 478 kilometers (297 miles) of drainage canals and will add another 222 kilometers (138 miles). It didn’t say where it would find sites for the canals in the middle of the city, where the Line 4 flood occurred.
The flood came Sunday, April 15, and engulfed the three stations just east of Mehrabad airport. The city was hit by a rain storm on Saturday and Sunday that totaled .55 inches.