TEHRAN – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has agreed to provide 500,000 Swiss francs in emergency aid to flood-hit southern provinces of Iran.

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is responding promptly to national populations to help victims of disasters immediately based on the population’s history and effective engagement with the IFRC.

The fund has agreed to provide 500,000 Swiss francs to the Red Crescent Society of Iran to help 13,750 flood victims, Hassan Esfandiar, director of international operations and humanitarian programs of the IRCS said.

The aid will be provided only to the flood victims in the southern provinces of Fars, Sistan-Baluchistan, Kerman, and Hormozgan and will be distributed only in the form of food items, relief, and health goods, he stated.

In early January, torrential rain triggered flooding in southern provinces of the country, claiming eight lives. Provinces of Fars, Kerman, Hormozgan, and Sistan-Baluchestan were affected by flooding.

A sum of 62 billion rials (around $220,000) has been allocated by philanthropists to the flood-stricken provinces, IRNA reported on Saturday.

20% of areas at high risk of flood

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

“Precipitation in Iran is one-third of the world’s average, as the country is located in a dry and fragile region where we experience 11 millimeters decrease in precipitation every 10 years and an increase in evaporation of more than 50 millimeters every year,” he explained.

Rainfall fluctuations usually lead to flood and devastation, so comprehensive planning for watershed management and flood control is required, he noted.

Since most of the water supply is extracted from groundwater resources, the country is in a critical condition in terms of groundwater resources, he stated, highlighting, because intake is less than water withdrawal from the aquifers, the best way to store rainwater is watershed and aquifer projects.

FB/MG