Karun River Overflow Creates Dangerous Situation in Western Khuzestan
With the overflow of the Karun River and flooding in Shush, Ahvaz, Hamidiyeh, Dasht Azadegan, and Hoveizeh, orders have been issued to evacuate six cities and more than 182 downstream villages of this river. Warnings have been issued regarding the rising water level of the Karun River.
Korosh Modat, acting governor of Khorramshahr, told the IRNA news agency on Sunday, April 8, that 13 villages west of the Karun River in Khorramshahr county in southwestern Khuzestan are considered high-risk areas due to their location on the bank of the Karun River. The villages of Um Al-Tamn, Um Nousheh, and Suichti One, Two, and Three are located in villages on the western bank of the Karun, 60 kilometers from Khorramshahr city.
According to him, villages west of the Karun in the Ahvaz security zone such as Kazemiyeh One and Two are facing problems, and operations to reinforce flood barriers in the villages of Deim Ben Najm and Sabeh in Khorramshahr are underway. IRNA reported that given the control of floods by flood barriers constructed in these villages, evacuation is not currently necessary, but this readiness has been announced to village heads.
Tabnak News Agency reported that the Ahvaz-Andimeshk road has been submerged, and a large number of electrical poles and facilities in Khuzestan have been flooded and damaged.
Ali Sari, representative of Ahvaz, told the ILNA news agency about the condition of the Karun Dam that due to the large volume of water entering the Karun Dam, there is a possibility of flooding in the six cities and conditions are unstable.
According to him, despite warnings from officials, the evacuation has not been completed fully and has faced resistance from people. People have been asked to completely evacuate the cities of Hamidiyeh, Sousangerd, Rafee, Abohameizeh, and Kut Sayed Naeim, but some groups have settled in camps, some are resisting and are unwilling to leave their homes, and some have taken refuge with relatives and acquaintances.
According to Ali Sari, representative of Ahvaz in the northern section of the provincial center, villages have been submerged. Conditions have worsened in the municipal district area and will worsen as water levels rise, and people must evacuate the cities.
Based on this news, downstream of the provincial center, the city of Esmaileyyeh is facing a broken flood barrier, but in Karun city conditions are still stable and are being controlled through flood barriers.
Damage has been inflicted on people’s homes in villages and their agricultural lands, but the true extent of damages is still unclear. Ali Sari said that the amount of damage is increasing. The municipal district and Hamidiyeh and villages along the river are under threat, and this threat has reached dangerous levels.
Cut off Communication Routes
ILNA news agency reported, quoting the representative of Ahvaz, that communication routes within the Dasht district have been lost, and in Bamdash not only has the road been submerged but houses and farms have also been submerged and communication is by boat. In Karun, a communication route used for traveling to the village has been submerged. He said that one road to Ahvaz is still open, but Karun county is being besieged from three sides.
Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Gheibparvar, head of the Mobilization of the Oppressed, told IRNA that several camps in the counties of Shush, Hamidiyeh, Dasht Azadegan, Khorramshahr, and Ahvaz have been planned for accommodating flood victims with a capacity of 150,000 people.
Following the disasters that floods left in Lorestan, Khuzestan now faces a critical situation. According to media reports, the discharge of Dez Dam in recent days has exceeded 3,000 cubic meters, and Karun Dam has reached 2,000 cubic meters per second. This has caused downstream areas in Khuzestan to be flooded.
Over the past two weeks, 182 villages, either in whole or in part, have been evacuated in Khuzestan. So far, 43 camps with a capacity of 30,000 people have been established in relief operations, and flood victims have been settled in them.
In recent days, 23 provinces of the country, including East and West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Ilam, Bushehr, Tehran, South Khorasan, Razavi and Northern Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Semnan, Fars, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, Golestan, Lorestan, Mazandaran, Central Province, and Hamadan, have been affected by flooding and heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours. Floods in Lorestan caused many disasters. A large volume of residential and commercial buildings, public and administrative centers in the path of the river were completely submerged and devastating damage was inflicted on the Pol-e Dokhtar bridge.
In total, 70 people have died in 13 provinces of Iran so far due to rainfall and flooding.
Source: DW
