Iranian Red Crescent: People's donations to flood victims have hit record high
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent says that so far 65 billion tomans in cash aid for flood victims has been deposited into the organization's account by citizens, which has "broken" the record for cash aid for the Kermanshah earthquake.
Ali Asghar Peyvandi, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said on Monday morning that as of Sunday evening, April 8, people had deposited 65 billion tomans in cash into the Red Crescent's accounts and had provided the organization with over 25 billion tomans in "biological items."
The head of the Red Crescent Volunteer Organization also presented a similar figure for the donations collected on a television program the previous day.
Mohammad Nasiri said that in the very first days of the flood, citizens donated 8 billion tomans in cash assistance to Golestan Province.
Yesterday, it was reported that citizens in Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab, who are still living in tents and shacks following the earthquake, have donated 150 million tomans to the flood victims of Golestan.
Previously, public cash donations for the earthquake in Kermanshah were announced at around 63 billion Tomans.
Despite all this, the manner and management of providing aid to the earthquake victims in Kermanshah was repeatedly criticized by citizens, observers, social media users, and media outlets within Iran.
These protests and criticisms, of course, also took place during other natural disasters and calamities in Iran, including the deadly Bam earthquake, which made headlines for the high level of foreign aid received, yet many people continued to live in shantytowns for years.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his promise on Monday during a meeting of the Iranian cabinet that the damages in the flooded areas would be "immediately compensated."
Damage estimation
Ali Asghar Peyvandi, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, says, "Initial estimates show that flood damage in the provinces of Lorestan, Ilam, Khuzestan, Golestan, and Mazandaran exceeds 60 trillion rials."
By April 13, the total damage was estimated at more than 11 billion tomans, but since then, both the estimates have changed and the flooding has continued.
Some experts say that an estimate of the damage will not be possible for weeks to come.
Mehdi Ghomshi, dean of the Faculty of Water Sciences at Chamran University of Ahvaz, told ILNA News Agency, "We must wait to assess the damages, which will probably be greater than this; it will probably be possible to estimate them in the next twenty to thirty days, and it is not possible to provide a realistic estimate of the incident sooner than that."
The recent floods have caused widespread destruction in some areas, completely destroying some villages. People in some areas and villages have lost their homes, farms, businesses, and almost all their belongings and assets. Some cities have also been extensively submerged.
As of Saturday, Ahmad Shojaei, head of Iran's forensic medicine organization, had reported at least 70 deaths in 13 provinces. An updated death toll has not yet been provided.
Source: Radio Qarda
