TEHRAN – A sum of 62 billion rials (around $220,000) has been allocated by philanthropists to four flood-stricken provinces in the southern part of the country, IRNA reported on Saturday.

The contributions were in cash and kind; main items were food, sanitary, carpet, and nylon packages sent to flood-affected areas, Vahid Salimi, caretaker of the Red Crescent Society’s Volunteers Organization, said.

In early January, torrential rain triggered flooding in southern provinces of the country, claiming eight lives. Provinces of Fars, Kerman, Hormozgan, and Sistan-Baluchestan have been affected by flooding.

20% of areas at high risk of flood

Twenty percent of areas across Iran are highly prone to flooding, Khosro Shahbazi, former head of the Forests, Range, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWMO) said in January 2020.

“Precipitation in Iran is one-third of the world’s average, as the country is located in a dry and fragile region where we experience 11 millimeters decrease in precipitation every 10 years and an increase in evaporation of more than 50 millimeters every year,” he explained.

Rainfall fluctuations usually lead to flood and devastation, so comprehensive planning for watershed management and flood control is required, he noted.

Since most of the water supply is extracted from groundwater resources, the country is in a critical condition in terms of groundwater resources, he stated, highlighting, because intake is less than water withdrawal from the aquifers, the best way to store rainwater is watershed and aquifer projects.

FB/MG