TEHRAN: Seventy people have died in flooding in Iran after record rainfalls began saturating parts of the country last month, state-run media reported.
Deaths have been recorded across 13 provinces, with the highest casualties in Fars, Lorestan, Golestan and Hamedan, said head of Iran’s Coroner’s Office, Ahmad Shojaei.
Sources say record rainfalls since March 19 have so far flooded some 1,900 cities and villages across Iran, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to water and agriculture infrastructures.
Over 140 rivers have burst their banks and some 409 landslides have been reported in the country; 78 roads had been blocked and 84 bridges in flood-stricken areas affected.
Officials on Saturday warned residents in the province of Khuzestan of rising water levels and urged them to take evacuation notices seriously, local media reported.
