Monsoon rains continue in Iran; warning about sewage overflowing into water supply network

Following the flooding in many areas of Iran over the past several days, Sadegh Ziaian, head of the National Center for Weather Hazard Prediction, has announced that the monsoon system will continue to operate in 10 provinces on Monday, August 10.

In an interview with ISNA news agency, Mr. Ziaian reported the activity of the monsoon system in some areas of the provinces of Fars, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kerman, the southern half of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Voir Ahmad, west of Yazd, and west and south of Isfahan.

At the same time, according to meteorological officials, strong winds accompanied by dust will continue in the eastern part of the country, especially the Zabol region, over the next five days. The eastern Sea of ​​Oman will also be rough from today until Friday.

As the torrential rains gradually subside, some officials have warned about the economic and health consequences of this natural event. Among them, Mohsen Farhadi, deputy director of the Health Center of the Ministry of Health, warned on Monday, August 1, about the contamination of drinking water in these areas, pointing to the damage to water supply networks in flooded areas and the possibility of sewage wells overflowing into these networks.

Mr. Farhadi further advised citizens of flooded areas to use "drinking water from reliable sources" and to refrain from consuming it if "turbidity" is observed in the water.

One of the health consequences of the flood is the accumulation of dead animal carcasses and livestock. So far, accurate national statistics have not been published on this issue, but Abbas Papizadeh, head of the Iranian Nomads' Affairs Organization, announced on August 29 that, based on initial estimates, more than 7,000 nomads' livestock have been killed.

The head of the Northern Agricultural Organization of Kerman Province had previously announced, based on initial estimates, that at least 5,700 heads of livestock had been lost in the province.

Given the possibility of continued torrential rains in some parts of Iran in the coming hours and days and the ongoing relief operations in these areas, it is difficult to announce a final estimate of the damages incurred in various sectors. However, the Minister of Agriculture announced the estimated amount of damages in this sector as of Sunday, August 29, at around 10 trillion tomans.

The Director General of the Road Transport and Highways Organization's Crisis Management Department also announced on Monday, August 1, that initial estimates indicate that 800 billion tomans of damage has been caused to the country's roads and technical structures to date.

Meanwhile, as the flood death toll in Iran continues to rise, the governor of Tehran announced that as of Monday, August 1, 43 of the total deaths were from this province.

According to the ILNA news agency, Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansouri, referring to the possible increase in the number of flood deaths in Tehran province, said that of the total number of deaths, 15 people died in Firuzkooh, 22 in Imamzadeh Davood, one in Damavand, one in Shemiranat, and four in Pardis, and three people are missing so far.

Nejad Jahani, deputy head of the National Disaster Management Organization, announced on Sunday, August 29, the latest national death toll from the recent floods at 69 and the number of missing at 45.

However, based on the discovery of new bodies, including one in Garmsar, in the past few hours, it can be predicted that the death toll will increase in the coming hours and days.

Source: Radio Farda