At Least Five Killed in Flash Flooding in Iran’s Fars Province (+Video)

“Unfortunately, five people from Fars province were trapped by water and lost their lives,” Mehdi Khoobyar, deputy head of the IRCS in Fars, said in an interview with Iranian media.

The victims died in the cities of Darab, Lar and Mehr and five people who were injured were taken to nearby medical centers, he said, adding that 183 operational teams in the form of 700 rescuers have been deployed using 142 vehicles for relief operations.

Relief teams “who were already on full alert, were dispatched to the flood-affected areas” in at least five cities in the province, he said.

Since last week, the Iranian Red Crescent Society had provided relief and assistance to 8,186 victims and 2,351 families in Fars province, Khoobyar said.

More reports of casualties from the floods in southern privinces of Iran indicated that at least three people were killed in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan and Balouchestan while two individuals are still missing, Mehdi Khoobyar said on Tuesday, adding that the number of flood victims in the southern provinces reached 14 people.

Meteorological authorities had warned on Sunday of heavy rain and floods in southern provinces including Kerman and Hormozgan. Heavy rains caused damage to agricultural lands and blocked roads in Hormozgan province, and damaged some infrastructure in the southeastern province of Sistan Baloushestan.

A weather system causing heavy rain is covering Iran’s south and several Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.

Iran has been suffering severe dry spells for years.

In 2019, heavy floods in the south left at least 76 people dead and caused damages estimated at more than $2 billion.