Floods in Iran claim the lives of at least 80: State Media
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60 cities, 140 towns, and over 500 villages in the country inhabited by around 83 million people were affected by the event.
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Iranian rescue teams trying to provide assistance during the floods (AP)
Over 80 people have been killed and 30 are missing in floods that have affected Iranian provinces for more than a week, state media reported.
Since the beginning of the Iranian month of Mordad on July 23, according to Yaghoub Soleimani, the secretary general of the Red Crescent Society, cited by IRNA, "59 people died and 30 are still missing in the incidents caused by recent floods."
This comes in addition to flash floods which were caused by heavy rains in Fars, which left at least 22 people dead just before the beginning of Mordad. Fars, usually, is a dry province. Many of the victims were spending the day by the riverside.
Soleimani revealed that 60 cities, 140 towns, and over 500 villages in the country inhabited by around 83 million people were affected by the event.
On behalf of the UN family in Iran I am deeply saddened by the loss of life, injuries and damages caused by the severe #floods. My condolences to the families of the victims and to the Govt and people of Iran.#UN_Iran stands ready to support the Govt-led rescue & relief efforts pic.twitter.com/jVdleuCJxM
— Stefan Priesner (@stefan_priesner) July 30, 2022
Tehran was hit the hardest by the floods, claiming 35 deaths. Mazandaran, a nearby province, saw the highest number of missing people, amounting to 20.
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, in a letter published on his website on Saturday, expressed condolences to the families and called on authorities to take necessary measures to repair the damage.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi visited areas heavily affected by the flood, such as the Firouzkouh region east of Tehran, according to his office. Severe damage was sustained in the region due to a mountain landslide that took away 14 lives, according to state media.
.report unfortunately death toll rose to 59 in recent #Iran #flooding, @Iranian_RCS responded to 27000 affected population in 21 provinces so far, pic.twitter.com/K5KdA9yslV
— Atta Durrani (@AttaDurraniIFRC) July 30, 2022
Videos and images circulated on social media showing houses and cars in grey mud, and people attempting to recover their things.
Preliminary estimates predict that there are about 60 trillion rials - or, about $200 million - in damages to the agricultural sector in the country, according to Agricultural Minister Javad Sadatinejad.
On Saturday, Iran's meteorological center warned of more rains in the south and northern provinces in the coming days.
