Devastating floods swept the northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Golestan and North Khorasan on Friday and Saturday, which claimed the lives of at least eight people and one person was reportedly missing.
Torrential rains began on Friday and persisted through Saturday, overflowing rivers, washing away bridges, inundating houses and destroying infrastructural establishments.
Iran's Red Crescent Society reported that some 1,400 people stranded as a result of the incident were provided with rescue services across the four afflicted provinces up until 3 p.m. Saturday, ISNA reported.
"Eighty-nine teams involving a total of 396 rescuers are providing emergency relief in the flood-stricken cities," said Morteza Salimi, the head of IRCS's relief and rescue organization.
Salimi added that some 170 people have lost their homes and have been accommodated in mosques and IRCS shelters.
"Rescuers have pumped water out of nearly 200 houses," he said.
First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri urged governor generals of Gilan and Mazandaran provinces in separate phone calls to keep rescue teams on full alert to provide aid to the affected people.
Tourists to the northern cities were stuck in heavy snarl-ups on Friday evening due to the deluge, but the traffic started moving more smoothly by Saturday.
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