"20 million people" live in subsidence areas in Iran
The secretary of Iran's National Working Group on Natural Hazards says that nearly 20 million people in the urban population live in areas subject to land subsidence at different rates.
According to Ali Beit Elahi, surveys conducted nationwide have shown that land subsidence has occurred in 18 of the 31 provinces.
The secretary of Iran's National Working Group on Natural Hazards told ISNA news agency that land subsidence is occurring in more than 600 plains across the country, and the conditions of a number of them have reached a critical state. Land subsidence has also occurred in 31 cities in Isfahan province, 30 cities in Tehran, 25 cities in Kerman province, and 24 cities in Khorasan Razavi province.
Ali Beitollahi attributed the widespread subsidence to the decrease in groundwater levels, and said that if this trend continues, even moderate-strength earthquakes may cause widespread destruction.
Source: Radio Farda
