TEHRAN – Some 60 million people in Iran are residing in flood-prone cities and villages, deputy head of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization, Hooshang Jazi, said.

Residents in 450 cities and 8,650 villages and towns of the country are at risk of flooding, he further lamented, IRNA reported on Monday.

According to him, each flood brings the country a loss of 4.4 trillion rials (nearly $12.2 million).

In order to prevent flood damages in these areas, the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization has prepared appropriate preventive measures and programs, he further announced.

Stating that the excessive extraction of underground resources has increased the risk of land subsidence, Jazi said the soil erosion rate in Iran is 16.4 tons per hectare per year, while its global index is 2.5 tons per hectare.

He further said that 125 million hectares of natural resources are exposed to erosion, which is very high and requires a solution.

According to UN surveys this year, the main natural disasters listed for Iran are drought, floods, and earthquakes. Subsidence is also a phenomenon that has emerged as one of the consequences of drought along with the aforementioned three challenges.

The main causes of flood in the country include rainfall fluctuations, climate change, uncontrolled water withdrawal from the aquifers, and improper infrastructure.

The national budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year 1401, which started on March 21, has allocated 16 trillion rials (about $53 million) for watershed management, which is nearly fourfold of the budget for the past year.

With the implementation of watershed management projects, 9 tons per hectare of water erosion has been reduced annually, and in mountainous areas, 570 cubic meters of water have been extracted per hectare.

Moreover, some 1000 cubic meters of water per hectare is stored in underground aquifers and prevent the entry of 4 cubic meters of sediment behind the dams.

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HIGHLIGHT: Some 16 trillion rials (about $53 million) has been allocated for watershed management, nearly fourfold of the budget for the past year.