February 07 2020
Major floods have struck parts of three southern provinces as 15 rain gauges in Sistan va Baluchestan province have recorded rainfall equal to the area’s annual precipitation in just three days
The downpours continue an unusual period of damaging rainstorms that started just before Now Ruz and have caused havoc in many parts of the country.
Heavy rainfall in Hormuzgan, Kerman and Sistan va Baluchestan provinces January 9-11 damaged houses, bridges, power infrastructure, while blocking roads and isolating hundreds of villages. So far, three deaths have been reported.
More than 500 villages in Sistan va Baluchestan and 363 villages in Kerman province were inaccessible as the roads to them were blocked, according to the director of crisis management in the province, Majid Saeedi.
He said many villages were already cut off by heavy snows. “Links to the rural areas remain blocked due to the long distance from the main roads and the mountainous areas.”
According to data from 15 rain gauge stations in Sistan va Baluchestan, more than 100 millimeters of rain fell in the three days, equivalent to one year’s rainfall in the region, Mohsen Heydari, director of Sistan va Baluchestan Meteorology Organization, said.
Several cities in the province, including Zahedan, Nikshahr, Khash, Delgan, Taftan, Saravan, Konarak and Mirjaveh, have been hit by floods.
People in Hormozgan province are also facing nature’s wrath. Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Bandar Lengeh, Minab, Sirik, Jask, Bashagard and Roudan are among the cities with flooding.
In recent months, other regions across the south have also struggled with high rainfall. Widespread flooding hit the southern Bushehr and southwestern Khuzestan provinces and Hormozgan between October and December.
Abadan in Khuzestan recorded 113 mm (4.4 inches) of rain on the one day of December 16, almost half its average annual precipitation, which is 230 mm.
In addition to the southern regions, Esfahan, Zanjan, Fars, Lorestan, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, Khorasan South and Kohgilouyeh va Boyerahmad were hit by severe weather, including snowstorms, in December.
According to the Red Crescent Society, five people died in two separate incidents in Hormozgan when their cars were swept away by floodwaters.
Devastating floods swept several provinces across Iran last March and April coinciding with the Now Ruz festivities.
Heavy rains swelled rivers, washed away bridges, inundated houses and destroyed infrastructure in Kermanshah, Fars, Lorestan, Kohgilouyeh va Boyerahmad, Golestan, Mazan-daran, Khorasan North, Khorasan Razavi, Hamedan, Semnan and Khuzestan provinces, killing 70 people.