Sandstorm and closure of offices in five Sistan counties
The offices of Zabol, Hamoon, Hirmand, Zahak and Nimroz have been declared closed. The sick, the elderly and children have been asked not to go outdoors. Hundreds of people have suffered from respiratory and eye complications. The wind speed in Zabol has reached 108 km/h.
The Sistan storm has left hundreds of residents of northern cities with respiratory, eye, and heart complications. The Director General of Sistan and Baluchestan's Crisis Management says that on Monday, August 11, 105 residents of Zabol, Zehak, Hamoon, Hirmand, and Nimroz cities were hospitalized due to such complications. Of these, 26 people have been hospitalized.
The storm began on Saturday, August 9, and the Governor's Crisis Management Office announced that the number of people affected that day was 465.
The provincial meteorology department has also urged the sick, elderly and children to stay indoors as much as possible. The organization has predicted that the concentration of fine dust will increase as the 120-day winds intensify and that the storm will continue until the middle of next week. Wind speeds in Zabol have reached 108 kilometers per hour and horizontal visibility at the city's airport has dropped to 1,500 meters.
Mehr News Agency quotes Abdolrahman Shahnavazi, Director General of Sistan and Baluchestan Crisis Management, as writing: "All service-providing departments, such as emergency rooms and medical centers, will be open."
Rasoul Rashki, CEO of the Sistan and Baluchestan Red Crescent, also announced the distribution of 12,000 masks among the storm-affected people. The head of the Zabol Meteorological Department said that horizontal visibility on the Zabol-Zahedan and Zabol-Hirmand highways has also decreased, and traffic on these roads should be carried out with extreme caution.
The 120-day winds blow in Sistan from late May to late September. These winds are associated with soil erosion and damage to vegetation in the region, and sometimes last up to 170 days.
Eissa Ebrahimzadeh, a faculty member at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, told Entebbe News Agency in September 2016: "In this region, sometimes the wind is so strong that within a few hours, agricultural lands and gardens are covered in sand or become a flat surface."
Sand and dust storms have hit the northern cities of Sistan region, while the south of the province is expected to face heavy rain and thunderstorms in the next three days, increasing the possibility of flash floods and seasonal river flooding. Accordingly, people have been asked to avoid traveling along seasonal rivers and streams.
Source: DW
