TEHRAN – Weather hazards have haunted 16 provinces out of the total 31 provinces across the country, Mehdi Valipour, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Relief and Rescue Organization, has said.

Snow, blizzard, and flooding affected 26 cities and 45 regions of the country over the past five days, he announced.

The IRCS forces provided relief and rescue aid to over 6,000 people, Valipour noted.

During the past five days, 258 people were provided with emergency accommodation, 18 people were transferred to safe areas and one was transferred to medical centers, he said.

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

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

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

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.

FB/MG