Death toll from floods in northwestern Iran rises to 42

According to ISNA news agency, Ismail Najjar announced on Saturday, April 16, that the bodies of six more people were discovered in Azarshahr city in East Azerbaijan, bringing the number of people killed in the city to 18.

He also announced that the bodies of 18 of the dead were also discovered in Ajabshir city in East Azerbaijan.

According to Mr. Najjar, one person was killed in the city of Oshnaviyeh in West Azerbaijan, one in the city of Baneh in Kurdistan Province, and four in the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province due to flooding.

However, different statistics have been announced regarding the number of missing people in these incidents. While the head of the Crisis Management Organization announced the number of missing people in Azarshahr County as 22, Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the country's emergency services, said that eight people are still missing in these incidents.

Since Friday, five provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Zanjan, and Mazandaran have been affected by flooding, with the highest loss of life in the two cities of Azarshahr and Ajabshir in East Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Public Relations of the Iranian Red Crescent Society announced that relief services were provided to 1,860 citizens in 40 cities and villages affected by the flood, and 288 people were given "emergency housing."

Vahid Rahmati also reported that relief forces have drained water from 179 residential units and removed 40 vehicles from the flood path.

On Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, expressed sympathy for the "victims" of the incident in a message and emphasized that "the immediate duty of the relevant authorities is to help the injured and alleviate their suffering and grief, and there should be no delay or laxity in fulfilling this duty."

On this day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also assigned a delegation headed by Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian to visit the provinces of West and East Azerbaijan, as well as Ardabil, to oversee the process of providing relief to flood victims.

Mr. Rouhani also called for the use of "all resources," including those of neighboring provinces, to "organize relief efforts for flood victims as quickly as possible," in separate phone calls with the Minister of Energy and the governors of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and Ardabil.

The Friday prayer imam of Tabriz, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the province, and the governor of East Azerbaijan also declared Sunday a day of public mourning in the province.

In recent months, some regions of Iran may have suffered damage from floods and inundation.

For example, in late March, heavy rain accompanied by storms and severe flooding of seawater in the port of "Deer" in Bushehr province caused at least two deaths and several injuries, in addition to financial damage.