Flash floods in Ilam Province in western Iran have cost the province’s tourism infrastructure an estimated 45 billion rials ($1.3 million) in damages, a senior official said.
“That’s 2.5 times greater than our annual development budget,” said Abdolmalek Shanbehzade, the head of the provincial Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department, the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.
The department’s development budget for the current Iranian year (started March 21) is 17 billion rials ($502,000).
Severe flooding damaged water and power facilities, roads, recreational sites and tourist resorts, as well as eight historically-significant monuments across the province.
The department has submitted a damage report to the Ilam Governorate and the ICHHTO in the hope of receiving funds to cover repairs. There are 1,500 historical monuments in Ilam, 745 of which are registered on the National Heritage List.
Wednesday’s flash floods in Iran’s western regions, particularly Ilam and Lorestan, devastated livelihoods and incurred upward of $60 million in damages, with some blaming years of deforestation in the region for the calamity and extent of damages.
