Following heavy floods in the south and southeastern provinces in Iran, which killed three and displaced hundreds of people, search and rescue teams are providing food, clothing and shelter to victims in and from the afflicted regions.
According to the Mehr News Agency, "47 search and rescue teams were deployed to flood-hit regions who provided aid to 1700 people," Hussein Darvishi, who heads the search and rescue missions of Iranian Red Crescent Society said.
Another 500 people were provided with emergency shelter and 55 others people were transferred to more secure locations, Darvishi was quoted as saying. The relief squads also managed to drain 240 flood-hit homes in the cities of Bandar Abbas and Roodan as well as 20 villages in Hormozgan Province.
Heavy rains in the provinces of Hormozgan, Kerman, and Sistan-Baluchestan have so far killed three people and destroyed 900 homes, causing over $60 million in damages, according to the local media.
Located in one of the most arid regions of the planet, Iran has been experiencing extended periods of drought and the flood-hit provinces have been among the worst drought-stricken regions. Iran's average annual rainfall is 250 mm, which is a third of the world average, and experienced a 27% decline compared to the past year.
The recent flooding in the south and southeastern regions is but another reminder of the unpredictable nature of climate change; a reminder that should prompt world leaders to take the threat of climate change seriously and find workable solutions to this universal and growing problem.
