Cultural heritage sites in the southern Bushehr Province survived the recent flooding and heavy rainfall, thanks to the local authorities' preemptive measures, said a senior official at the provincial office of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
Speaking to Mizan Online News Agency, Nasser Amirzadeh, the head of the office, added that plans were set in motion from the moment meteorologists issued warnings.
"Cultural heritage protection units and the provincial Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization were put on alert," he said.
Bushehr is home to 289 cultural heritage sites.
"The downpours raised concerns about those historical sites, some of which are under restoration. However, protective measures mattered and no serious damage inflicted the historical monuments," he said.
On February 12, the Climatology Research Institute in Tehran warned that heavy rainfall would lead to flooding in the southern and southwestern regions in the coming weeks.
Reportedly, some 80% of the province have been affected by heavy downpours and flooding, which has hit rural roads in 15 villages in Bushehr.
In Fars Province, severe flooding unearthed 13th-century tablets and tombstones in Jooyum, Larestan County.
"The area where the tablets were found has been cordoned off and studies will begin soon," Khashayar Sheybani, Larestan's chief cultural heritage official, told Mehr News Agency.
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