TEHRAN — Government has paid out some 340 billion rials (nearly $8 million) of handouts for reconstruction and rehabilitation of 8,000 housing units in rural areas of the western province of Lorestan, Mehdi Jamalinejad, deputy interior minister for urban and rural development has said.

Torrential rain started on March 19 led to flood in at least 25 out of 31 provinces of Iran and caused extensive damage to the houses, schools, urban and rural infrastructure, crops and livestock. Provinces of Lorestan, Golestan, and Khuzestan are hit the hardest with the flooding.

Government’s priority is to compensate for losses incurred on houses as well as farming lands, Mehr news agency quoted Jamalinejad as saying on Thursday.

He went on to say that the responsible organizations are doing their best to complete reconstruction projects by the yearend (March 19, 2020).

It is also projected that a budget of 980 billion rials (nearly $23 million) will be allocated to reconstruction and rehabilitation of 9,800 housing units in rural areas of Lorestan province, he added.

Moreover, some 660 billion rials (nearly $15.5 million) of government handouts is also allotted to temporary housing of the flood victims in the western province, he concluded.

MQ/