A ten-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy and a man aged 45 were among those who died in Kerman province, while three more people lost their lives when their car crashed from a bridge into a river in Sistan-Baluchestan province.
The heavy rain in the south of Kerman Province, which caused flooding in the cities of Jiroft, Baft, Bam and Sirjan., comes after years of drought and below average rain for 17 years.
The latest deluge – which also went unforecast by the country’s meteorological office – caused the worst damage in the town of Hossein Abad, where 500 homes were submerged by water.
The mayor of Jiroft also reported that many houses were flooded in the town of Esfandagheh, adding: “The water and electricity supply to several villages has been cut off and the full extent of the damage is now being calculated.”
In Jiroft, people staged a protest outside the governor’s office at the lack of provision of their basic needs during the flooding, which has damaged 50 per cent of houses as well as farms and infrastructure in the city.
Meanwhile the authorities in the area are causing more anger by demanding to see people’s identity cards before handing out aid.
One villager in Hossein Abad said: “When all our belongings are under water, how can we find our identification cards?”
Another villager struck by the flood added: “Help turned up 18 hours late. There has been no plan put together to help people.”