Flood warning in 10 Iranian provinces as flooding continues in Golestan province

While many areas of Golestan Province in northern Iran are still under water days after devastating floods, the Ministry of Energy and the Meteorological Organization have warned of flooding in 10 provinces of the country.

Mir Mohammad Gharavi, the acting governor of Golestan, who was appointed on Saturday evening after the dismissal of Manaf Hashemi from the Golestan governorship, announced at a coordination meeting of the crisis council that two-thirds of the city of Aqqala is now under water and the roads in the city are surrounded by floods.

Also, the drinking water network of 58 villages was cut off due to the flood, but Gharavi said that the problem has been resolved in 28 villages so far, and there are still power outages in three villages.

Some reports indicate that the Gomishan axis, one of the flooded areas of the province, towards Aqqala has also been blocked due to flooding.

The late response of government institutions to the floods in Golestan Province, the lack of accountability of officials, and the presence of the Golestan Governor on a trip abroad have drawn widespread criticism. This issue led to the dismissal of the Governor by the First Vice President.

The flood crisis in Golestan Province continues, while the Meteorological Organization predicted heavy rain in some regions of Iran on Sunday, and the Minister of Energy announced that flood warnings have been issued for 10 provinces, including Bushehr, West Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Fars, Hormozgan, North Khorasan, and Razavi.

Meanwhile, Salman Samani, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Interior, announced the formation of crisis headquarters in five provinces: Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Ilam, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, and the readiness of the governors.

Floods in Mazandaran, Golestan, and North Khorasan have killed at least 9 people in recent days.