TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said the completion of two dam projects in the flood-stricken Sistan-Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran will be accelerated, IRNA reported.

According to the official, following President Rouhani’s recent visit to the mentioned province, he obliged the energy ministry to prioritize the completion of Kahir and Shahri-Pour dam projects in the region.

President Hassan Rouhani visited Sistan-Baluchestan early Saturday to monitor rescue and relief operations to people affected by massive floods caused by heavy rains in the province.

Ardakanian noted that Kahir and Shahri-Pour dam projects have had 85 percent and 93 percent of physical progress, respectively.

Mentioning the recent floods in Sistan-Baluchestan province, the official said: “It was an unprecedented flood, the amount of rainfall in Sistan-Baluchestan province this [water] year was 45 times more than [that of] the last year.”

According to the energy minister, all the five dams in the province are now full and some of them have overflowed.

Unprecedented heavy rainfall which began on January 10 has led to flash flooding in the southern provinces, including Sistan-Baluchestan. Some 95 stations have reported receiving more than 50 mm of rain and 17 stations received 100-200 mm of rain.

Preliminary estimates indicate the flooding has caused damage of up to 30 trillion rials (nearly $715 million) to different sectors of Sistan-Baluchestan.

According to the latest assessments, 500 villages and 14 cities are grappling with flooding and some 20,000 residential units have been destructed partially or completely.

EF/MA