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Fars, Bushehr Hit by Inclement Weather

Flood waters destroyed the Muhammad Abad Earth Dam near Jahrom city, Fars Province.
Flood waters destroyed the Muhammad Abad Earth Dam near Jahrom city, Fars Province.
Although helicopters are on standby to provide contingency services to the southern counties, it is impossible to use the choppers because of the harsh weather conditions

Rescue and relief teams from the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) have been dispatched to Fars, Bushehr and other provinces following inclement weather in the past few days in various parts of the country, disrupting the lives of a large number of people.

Isfahan, Ilam, Hormozgan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Tehran, Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad, Kerman, and Khuzestan are the other provinces affected.

 “The southwestern Fars Province has been severely affected by the recent downpours in particular in its eastern and southern parts. Flood waters destroyed the Muhammad Abad Earth Dam and damaged a part of the Grand Bazaar in Jahrom city, located 170 km southeast of Shiraz, the provincial capital,” said Hassan Fayazpour, director general of Jahrom’s Crisis Management Office on Friday, IRNA reported.

Qodratollah Jamali, deputy for rescue and relief at Fars’s IRCS, said although helicopters are on standby to provide contingency services to the southern counties, “it is impossible to use the choppers because of the harsh weather conditions.”

“Flood waters have blocked roads in 20 villages and five villages have been evacuated over fears of inundation,” said Alireza Sahraeian, Jahrom governor.

Four villages in Darab have been severely affected by the downpours. Unfortunately, relief and rescue teams don’t have access to the villages and even IRCS helicopters cannot reach them due to bad weather.

 “Around 700 residential buildings in rural and urban areas of Fars Province have been destroyed completely. Also 2,050 residential units were damaged (10%-45%) and are in need of reconstruction and renovation,” Sahraeian said.

He urged the people to avoid roads along the swollen rivers and water channels, following consecutive days of heavy rainfall.

Floods in the southern Bushehr Province have also inundated many roads in eight counties. It is said the flood waters have also brought in their wake deadly snakes in the counties.

According to the IRCS, 80% of the province has been affected by heavy downpours and teams have been able to reach the eight severely affected counties to provide emergency services to the stricken people.

On February 12, the Climatology Research Institute (CRI) in Tehran warned that heavy rainfall will lead to flooding in the southern and southwestern regions in the coming weeks.

In western Kurdistan Province and the northern West and East Azarbaijan provinces, many villages were isolated due to the floodwaters.

  Prone to Natural Disasters

According to the Natural Disaster Management Organization, Iran is one of the most vulnerable countries prone to more than 33 types of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, land subsistence, drought, sandstorms, to name a few.

 “We must move in the direction of reinforcing existing structures and ensure resourceful crisis management,” said Morteza Akbarpour, head of the organization.

Economists have warned that drought, natural disasters, lack of effective agriculture insurance and improper distribution of credits and loans, are factors that can worsen poverty levels in the country.

As there is lack of organized insurance policies for natural disasters, when such instances occur, it drives families deeper into poverty. With extreme weather changes on the rise, low-income families are at a greater risk than ever due to their environmental conditions and economic instability, experts say.

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