TEHRAN – The government is providing 20 million rials (nearly $470) handout to each of the families who suffered financial loss by flood in Mazandaran province, northern part of the country, the province’s governor general has said.

So far, some 350 flooded households have received government compensation payments, while 1,850 households are currently entitled to the payments, IRNA quoted Mohammad Eslami as saying on Saturday.

The budget earmarked for the cash handouts are fully provided to the bank and are being paid to the flood affected families bank accounts, he concluded.

Earlier this month, Eslami also announced that the government has earmarked a total budget of 500 billion rials (nearly $12 million) compensating for the losses resulting from floods and rehabilitating roads and other necessary infrastructures.

Heavy rainfall in less than 24 hours has led to devastating floods sweeping Mazandaran province on October 5, claiming 5 lives, which has resulted in damages worth of nearly 7 trillion rials (about $166 million), destroying infrastructures, residential units, roads and huge tracts of farmlands.

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