GENEVA (Reuters) - The risk of floods has forced the Iranian government to order the evacuation of 70 villages in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The villages were close to the Dez and Karkheh rivers, Shush county governor Adnan Qazi said, quoted by IRNA.

At least 45 people were killed in the past two weeks in flash floods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains in at least a decade.

Iran has announced a state of emergency in southern provinces threatened by flooding and has evacuated dozens of villages already.

Floods have affected at least 23 out of Iran’s 31 provinces since heavy downpours began on March 19.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead. </s> GENEVA/DUBAi (Reuters) - Flood risks have forced the Iranian government to order the evacuation of 70 villages in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan on Tuesday, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

The villages were close to the Dez and Karkheh rivers, Shush county governor Adnan Qazi was quoted by IRNA as saying.

At least 47 people were killed in the past two weeks in flash floods in various provinces in Iran, from north to south, after the heaviest rains in the country in at least a decade.

Iran has announced a state of emergency in several provinces threatened by flooding and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes in the flood-hit provinces, where dozens of villages have been evacuated already.

President Hassan Rouhani, accused by critics of mishandling the crisis, has promised compensation to all those affected.

The head of the judiciary, hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, has said that officials who mishandled the disaster and caused the death of civilians could face prosecution.

Authorities are concerned about rising threats of dam failures and water releases that could create further damage in various provinces.

Officials in Tehran have called on people to stay away from rivers and areas near dams, saying that all the relevant organizations were on high-alert due to possibility of flooding in the capital that

Floods have affected at least 26 out of Iran’s 31 provinces since heavy downpours began on March 19.

Western provinces of the country have been hit by the worst of the flooding and southwestern provinces expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it faced an emergency in a southwestern province threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported.

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of flooding in Golestan province, Iran March 27, 2019. Official Iranian President website/Handout via REUTERS

Some 56 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan may have to be evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain, the provincial governor, Gholamreza Shariati, told state television.

“Some residents are resisting (evacuation calls) because of their livestock...and because they’ve experienced similar circumstances in the past,” Shariati said, adding Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had agreed to call an emergency in Khuzestan.

Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to “control floodwaters and to minimize possible damage”.

“It’s estimated that in the next five days about three billion cubic meters of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall ... 1.8 billion of which (is above capacity and) will have to be released,” he told state television.

The semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Shariati as saying floods could also threaten the provincial capital Ahvaz if the rain is at the highest end of forecasts.

In the neighboring province of Lorestan, at least eight villages and parts of the town of Dorud were being evacuated, the semi-official news agency Fars reported.

Officials have said the government would compensate residents for flood damage.

At least 45 people were killed this week in flash floods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains recorded in Iran in at least a decade, the state news agency IRNA quoted Health Minister Saeid Namaki as saying.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.

Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz new year holiday, a time when many families travel.

Iran has implemented measures to prevent rain and flooding affecting its main crude oil export terminal on Kharg Island in the Gulf, the head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company told the semi-official news agency Mehr on Saturday.

National Iranian Gas Company said earlier its pipeline network had not been affected by the bad weather. </s> This handout photo provided by the Iranian presidency on Wednesday shows areas affected by floods in the country’s north-eastern Golestan region (AFP photo)

DUBAI — Authorities in Iran worked on Saturday to evacuate villages threatened by flooding in southwestern areas as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported.

State television said at least 11 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich south-western province of Khuzestan were being evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain.

Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to “control floodwaters and to minimise possibe damage”.

“It’s estimated that in the next five days about 3 billion cubic metres of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall ... 1.8 billion of which [is above capacity and] will have to be released,” he told state television.

Government officials have said no cities will have to be evacuated but that damage to villages and farms near rivers is likely, vowing to compensate farmers for the loss of crops or livestock.

At least 45 people were killed earlier this week in flashfloods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains recorded in Iran in at least a decade, the state news agency IRNA quoted Health Minister Saeid Namaki as saying.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.

Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz New year holiday, a time when many families travel.

Iran has implemented measures to stop the rainfall and flooding affecting its main crude oil export terminal on Kharg Island in the Gulf, the head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company told the semi-official news agency Mehr on Saturday.

National Iranian Gas Company said earlier that its pipeline network had not been affected by the bad weather. </s> Tehran - The death toll from major floods swamping much of Iran has risen to 21, emergency services said Tuesday, as authorities sent safety warnings to mobile telephones across the country.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a message of condolence urging officials to speed up relief efforts and compensation for victims of the floods, which the authorities described as unprecedented.

The disaster, which the energy minister blamed on climate change, struck in the middle of Iranian New Year holidays, with many relief workers on vacation.

Nineteen people were killed and 98 injured in the southern city of Shiraz, while one person died in the western province of Kermanshah and another in Lorestan, also in the west, rescue services said.

With 20 of Iran's 31 provinces experiencing floods or facing an imminent threat, the country's National Crisis Management Committee was activated at the cabinet level.

Iran's meteorological service has warned of more heavy showers until Wednesday, and flood warnings have gone out for central provinces such as Isfahan and the capital Tehran.

Overnight the crisis management committee sent out multiple text messages to all mobile telephones in Iran urging people to be cautious and await instructions from official sources.

"Remain calm when facing possible dangers... do not honk your car horns in mountainous regions as it might cause avalanches," one of the messages read.

"Do not setup tents near rivers or mountainous areas... and most importantly do not cross bridges when floods are running underneath," read another one.

The floods followed extreme rainfall which at times was equivalent to half of the average annual levels within 24 hours.

It follows major floods on March 19 in the northeastern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran, for which no official casualty toll has been given.

Such a widespread flood threat is unprecedented in arid Iran, which until 2018 was dealing with decades of drought.

"Climate change is forcing itself on our country," said Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian, who is in charge of dams and water supply.

"These unprecedented floods in our country are because of climate change worldwide," he said on Monday, quoted by the Tasnim news agency. </s> Morteza Salimi said relief operations are seriously underway in 123 cities, villages, tribal areas and mountainous roads across Iran.

“Over the past 48 hours, 23 provinces have been struggling with heavy floods and their disasters,” he said.

The provinces are as follows: East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Ilam, Bushehr, Tehran, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Semnan, Fars, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kohkiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Golestan, Lorestan, Mazandaran, Markazi and Hamedan.

According to Salimi, 50,138 people in the affected areas have been sheltered and efforts are underway to provide about 3,015 other people with emergency services over the past two days.

He went on to say that so far 143 residential units have been evacuated from water by 26 mechanical pumps in the flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, a large number of blankets, cans, mineral water bottles and other necessary items have been gathered and sent to the affected areas.

Iranian emergency officials have issued warnings against camping alongside rivers and streams over possible flash floods.

People have also been called to stay away from dangerous areas as heavy rains continue in northern, western and southwestern parts of the country. In the capital Tehran, 10,000 civil defence forces are on alert as more rain is anticipated. Several Iranian provinces were hit by rare flash floods in the past week. According to Iran’s Red Crescent Society, the disaster has claimed the lives of at least 45 people so far. Aid and relief operations are in full swing in the affected areas. </s> March 26 (UPI) -- At least 25 people have died in recent flash flooding throughout Iran, a government official told state-run media in an updated death toll Tuesday.

At least 18 people died in the badly hit city of Shiraz, as two were reported dead in Golsetan and five others were killed in Mazandaran, Ahmad Shojayee, head of the Forensic Medicine Organization of Iran, told the state-run Fars News Agency on Tuesday. Early estimates placed the death toll at at least a dozen.

The city of Shiraz was the worst hit, as heavy rain caused widespread flooding there. In that city alone, 119 people were injured, Head of Iran Emergency Medical Service Pirhossein Kolivand told Fars News Agency.

The storm came while many Iranian families were traveling to Shiraz and other parts of the country for the Iranian New Year holiday. Some families unaware of the severity of the storms were trapped inside cars.

The country's Disaster Management Organization urged people to postpone travel plans and seek shelter if they were threatened by high water.

Severe weather bringing heavy rain and flooding started last week in the northern provinces of Mazandaran, Golestan, Semnan and North Khorassan and has gone on to affect 30 provinces. Officials said more than 56,000 people have been affected in various cities and rural areas in Golestan and Mazandaran since the start of the inclement weather.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani asked the country's armed forces to do more to rescue people during an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, state-owned PressTV reported. Officials issued flood alerts for 10 provinces in the west and southwest, including the oil and agriculture region of Khouzestan, Iranian energy minister Reza Ardakanian said.

The weather affected travel as well with at least 22 routes at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport being canceled because of the severe weather Monday. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 17 people were killed and more than 70 others were wounded in flash floods in Iran’s southern province of Fars, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, following devastating floods in the north.

The spread of deadly flooding to the south follows days of floods that affected more than 56,000 people living in 270 villages and small towns in the northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan along the Caspian Sea, state TV reported.

“At least 17 people were killed and 74 were injured in the Shiraz city flood ... caused by heavy rains that started in the morning,” Tasnim quoted the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand, as saying, referring to the capital of Fars province in the south.

Kolivand later said one other person was killed in Sarpol-e Zahab in the western province of Kermanshah.

Iranian state TV said several provinces were on high alert for imminent flooding because of heavy rains.

Fars Governor Enayatollah Rahimi told state TV the flooding was under control and rescue and aid workers had been dispatched to the flood-hit areas.

“I am urging people to stay inside their homes in order to remain unharmed,” he said. “The scale of the flood damage is under investigation.”

TV aired footage of cars caught in flood waters in Shiraz. Iran’s Students News Agency ISNA said high water had damaged thousands of houses in Shiraz and other towns.

As the victims of the northern Iran flood struggled for days with rain, mud and cold weather, President Hassan Rouhani’s hardline rivals have criticized the government for doing too little, too late.

In a rare move, Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called on the armed forces to help the flood-hit northern provinces.

Following Khamenei’s order, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its affiliated Basij militia have been playing a leading role in dealing with the aftermath of the floods in northern provinces. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 17 people were killed and more than 70 others were wounded in flash floods in Iran’s southern province of Fars, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, following devastating floods in the north.

The spread of deadly flooding to the south follows days of floods that affected more than 56,000 people living in 270 villages and small towns in the northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan along the Caspian Sea, state TV reported.

“At least 17 people were killed and 74 were injured in the Shiraz city flood ... caused by heavy rains that started in the morning,” Tasnim quoted the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand, as saying, referring to the capital of Fars province in the south.

Kolivand later said one other person was killed in Sarpol-e Zahab in the western province of Kermanshah.

Iranian state TV said several provinces were on high alert for imminent flooding because of heavy rains.

Fars Governor Enayatollah Rahimi told state TV the flooding was under control and rescue and aid workers had been dispatched to the flood-hit areas.

“I am urging people to stay inside their homes in order to remain unharmed,” he said. “The scale of the flood damage is under investigation.”

TV aired footage of cars caught in flood waters in Shiraz. Iran’s Students News Agency ISNA said high water had damaged thousands of houses in Shiraz and other towns.

As the victims of the northern Iran flood struggled for days with rain, mud and cold weather, President Hassan Rouhani’s hardline rivals have criticised the government for doing too little, too late.

In a rare move, Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called on the armed forces to help the flood-hit northern provinces.

Following Khamenei’s order, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its affiliated Basij militia have been playing a leading role in dealing with the aftermath of the floods in northern provinces.
The Iranian government announces an emergency in southwestern provinces threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people last week.