69 people dead in Iran flash floods

As many as 69 people were killed in the recent flooding and landslides that wreaked havoc across Iran following heavy rainfall.

Iran's Crisis Management Organization senior official, Nezhad Jahani, said that at least 45 people are still missing in Tehran and three other provinces following the recent floods, which damaged at least 20,000 residential homes, reported CNN.

More than 20 provinces, including the Tehran province, have been affected by the floods that were caused by heavy rainfall, semi-official Fars news agency said.

The videos posted on local and social media showed the cars caught in the rising waters and carried away while parents tried to rescue their children from the vehicles.

The floods happened on a summer weekend in Iran, when families tend to head to cooler areas such as riversides, lakesides and valleys.

Several airports and main highways were closed and thousands of people evacuated.

State media said that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told ministers and governors to prepare measures that would minimize damage resulting from flooding, as the Iranian Meteorological Organization warned the rain would continue across several provinces, reported CNN.

"It is necessary for the governors-general to provide relief to the flooded areas in their provinces or to certain neighbouring provinces with all available facilities," he said as quoted by Xinhua.

Last Saturday, Al Jazeera reported that at least 22 people were dead and one went missing in the flash floods in Southern Iran.

Iran has been battling deadly floods and mudslides for two weeks, including in the country's south.

The Red Crescent said the damage in the southern Fars province was caused by flooding from a dam on the Rodbal River near the city of Estahban.

Scientists say the climate crisis is making flash flooding events like the ones seen in Iran this week more likely because while more intense evaporation leads to more droughts, warmer air can hold more water vapour to produce extreme rainfall events, reported CNN.

A study into the effects of climate change on Iran found that the extreme wet and dry periods are becoming more frequent, and that there are more extended periods of extremely hot temperatures and higher frequency of floods across the country.

In 2019, more than 70 people died in Iran because of flooding following record rainfalls.