In the latest updates, casualties from floods across various provinces of the country have risen to 13. Among the affected areas are Nikshahr, Iranshahr, Dashtiyari, Darab, and Kazeroon.
The governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province stated that in the past two days, due to heavy rainfall and flash floods, communication to 346 villages near Konarak, Chabahar, Dashtiyari, and Zarabad has been cut off. Some houses in Konarak have been inundated.
In Zahedan, floods have blocked the railway route of Zahedan-Mirjaveh.
#Iran News: #Floods and Inundations Ravage the Provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman, and Hormozganhttps://t.co/TeWKk1FcfB
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 18, 2024
The governor of Nikshahr reported that two individuals in a tribal area of Nikshahr were swept away by the floods, and their lifeless bodies were discovered by rescue teams. Even after 48 hours since the onset of the floods, access to 100 villages in this county remains closed.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Iranian state-run media appear to be minimizing the extent of damages and casualties resulting from the recent floods. While exaggerating the provision of assistance by the regime’s Red Crescent Society’s rescue teams, the state-run ISNA News Agency has failed to provide a comprehensive account of the disaster.
“Rescue teams from the Red Crescent Society assisted 5,300 people affected by floods and inundation over the past two days in eight southern provinces of the country,” ISNA reported on April 18.
#Iran’s Floods and the source of problems – December 2020#WeStand4FreeIran #HumanRights https://t.co/e2tLNEX4oB pic.twitter.com/xFY7qLZIzE
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 13, 2020
However, the agency stopped short of offering detailed information on the scale of the catastrophe.
ISNA quoted Mahmoudi, the head of the Red Crescent Relief and Rescue Organization, stating, “From April 15 to 7 a.m. on April 18, the provinces of Bushehr, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Fars, Kerman, Hormozgan, and Yazd have been affected by floods and needed emergency assistance.”
The deputy head of the Crisis Management Headquarters of Sistan and Baluchestan province announced an initial estimate of flood damages in the province, totaling 18 trillion rials. Ruhollah Sargazi stated, “The recent floods in Sistan and Baluchestan have inflicted the most significant damages, respectively, on communication routes, the agricultural sector, the power distribution network, and water resources.”