Flooding in 8 Iranian provinces; sewage enters homes in Ahvaz
Eight Iranian provinces have been affected by flooding over the past three days, with the most significant damage in Khuzestan. Sewage and mud have flooded homes and streets in Ahvaz, Karun, Bandar Imam, and Mahshahr, putting deteriorated residential areas at risk of collapse.
Ilam, Bushehr, Khuzestan, Fars, Qazvin, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Golestan, and Lorestan have faced flooding and waterlogged streets over the past 72 hours.
The Red Crescent is reporting relief operations for flood victims in Khuzestan, Bushehr, Ilam, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, as well as distribution of food, blankets, hygiene materials, and heating supplies. Meanwhile, people in Khuzestan, particularly residents of Abadan, Khorramshahr, and Ahvaz, are concerned about house collapses due to mud sediment and sewage entering their homes. This risk is greater in marginal areas due to deteriorated housing structures. The health consequences in this situation, especially under the current red alert COVID-19 conditions, are very serious.
ILNA news agency reports that one reason for the rise of water and sewage in Ahvaz’s streets is flooding from two years ago, which created layers of alluvial deposits and sediment in rivers, leaving them without adequate capacity: “With the slightest rainfall, water backs up into the city’s sewage channels and pipes.”
Mehran Babapur, a member of Ahvaz City Council, told ILNA that the city’s waterlogging problem is a chronic issue and not something of today or yesterday: “For 20 years, no action has been taken to improve the city’s sewage system, and the sewage problem is like an old wound that opens up with every rainfall.”
Beyond most of Ahvaz’s neighborhoods, areas in Abadan such as Zolghadr, Alvanieh, East and West Selich, and the Bahmanshir riverbank have been submerged. The ports of Khorramshahr, Imam Khomeini, and Mahshahr also face extensive waterlogging.
Now marginal residents of Ahvaz live amid mud, silt, and sewage, worried about their deteriorated homes collapsing. Images published in media show waterlogged streets and vehicles submerged up to their bumpers.
Masoud Kananani, an environmental activist, says that due to the narrowing of rivers and increased sediment levels, water directly enters sewage channels and pipes with the slightest rainfall, and these pipes flow through city-level streets and especially areas near riverbanks.
Kananani complained that officials have not fulfilled their management duties. He also held the provincial representatives accountable for concealing this mismanagement, saying: “In the past, we also witnessed this management weakness in sewage crises, dust storms, and acid rains.”
Mehran Babapur, a member of Ahvaz City Council, told ILNA that the city’s waterlogging problem is not a matter of today or yesterday but a chronic issue: “For 20 years, no action has been taken to improve the city’s sewage system, and the sewage problem is like an old wound that opens up with every rainfall.”
Currently, a flood headquarters has been established in eight areas of Ahvaz and surface water collection committees are on standby, but Babapur warned that if rainfall continues and intensifies, the situation could become critical.
Ahvaz has 2,400 kilometers of sewage network, of which 1,100 kilometers are deteriorated.
Source: DW
