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A severe rainstorm that began at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, May 15, has caused significant flooding in the metropolitan area of Mashhad, halting vehicle movement and leading to widespread disruption. This 40-minute deluge has resulted in extensive damage and numerous casualties due to the city’s inadequate infrastructure and poor urban planning.
In Sabzevar, residents are grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic hailstorm, with hailstones weighing up to one kilogram. This unusual weather event has led to the destruction of livestock, inflicting heavy financial losses on local farmers.
As of the latest reports, the death toll from the devastating flood in Mashhad and the surrounding Khorasan Razavi province has risen to 19, with several individuals still unaccounted for. The worst-hit areas include streets 69 and 71 in the Sepah District of Mashhad, where ground floors of residential buildings have been inundated, with water levels reaching the ceilings in some homes.
Haji Beygloo, a member of Mashhad’s municipal council, attributed the severe impact of the flood to unauthorized constructions and the development of the southern belt in Kuhshad. In contrast, the Mashhad municipality downplayed the disaster, referring to it merely as “minor waterlogging” and dismissively claimed that only “cardboard cars” had been swept away by the water, not people’s actual vehicles. This blatant minimization of the crisis has sparked a furious public backlash, leading to the dismissal of the official responsible for these statements.
#Iran News:
Extensive #Flood Devastation in 23 Provinces amid Regime Inactionhttps://t.co/is030hq17m— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 7, 2024
Majid Dabirian, another city council member, criticized the local administration for their delayed response, stating, “We expected the mayor of Mashhad and the director of coordination to be present before the flood occurred. Unfortunately, they arrived only after the disaster struck.”
In a controversial remark, Ahmad Vahidi, the Interior Minister under Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, callously suggested that the three deceased individuals should be buried free of charge, adding to the public outrage over the government’s handling of the crisis.
Instead of undertaking serious rescue efforts, the Raisi government has advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel within Mashhad and other areas affected by the flooding. State media have also reported power outages and incidents of citizens being trapped in elevators due to the flooding.
Provincial authorities in Khorasan Razavi have warned that rainfall is expected to continue through Sunday, May 19, potentially leading to an increase in the flood-related death toll. As of Wednesday evening, at least 12 people remain missing.
Watch and judge how locals in Sistan and Baluchestan Province expose the #Iranian regime's inaction and #hypocrisy amid devastating floods in that region. pic.twitter.com/gEObkark1J
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 5, 2024
Videos circulating on social media show the floodwaters sweeping away cars with passengers still inside. Vahid Bakhoda, the Public Relations Manager for Mashhad’s Fire Department, confirmed that two bodies have been recovered from the floodwaters near the Enqelab Bridge. The exact number of vehicles submerged remains unknown.
Since the onset of the rains, the fire department has responded to 220 incidents related to the weather, including 84 cases of domestic flooding, 27 elevator entrapments, and seven instances of trees falling onto cars.
Iran, a country frequently plagued by both droughts and flash floods, remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Decades of governmental neglect and failure to invest in essential infrastructure have exposed the population to such calamities. Simple measures such as effective drainage and urban planning could have mitigated the effects of seasonal rains, but the malign priorities of the clerical regime have left citizens paying the ultimate price.
#Floods ravaged southwestern and southeastern #Iran, taking the lives of nearly 40 people so far. They were not just numbers but human beings who lost their lives in the era of technology due to regime officials’ failure to address an environmental crisis.https://t.co/h85iCOYOwJ
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 27, 2022
