At least 111 dead, 35 others still missing in Iran floods

10/04/2001| IslamWeb

TEHRAN, (AFP) -The death toll from flooding in northern Iran over the past two days has risen to 111, with 35 still reported missing, and serious damages, television reported Sunday.(Read photo caption below)
The earlier toll referred to more than 100 dead in Golestan province from which followed torrential rain.
The television also broadcast a message from the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which he appealed to the government and the population "to hurry to help and provide aid" to those affected.
Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari is to travel the affected areas Monday to evaluate the damage and oversee rescue operations, the television added.
Further east in Khorassan province, the number of those reported missing is unchanged from previous estimates at 35, while at least two people have died in floods there.
The damage estimated from the floods in northern Golestan, the scale of which has not been seen in the northern Iran region for many decades, is around 200 billion riyals (25 million dollars), said Habibzadeh Dabaq, the deputy Golestan governor, cited by IRNA.
He said some 1,500 houses, 100 cars and 80 kilometers of roads, as well as 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of farmland have been destroyed since the waters, sparked by heavy rainfall, swelled Friday, flooding 17 villages in this province which lies east of the Caspian Sea.
According to Dabaq, the "amount of water and the destructive power of the flooding has been the worst in 200 years in this region."
Gas pipelines, electricity and phone lines have been cut in Kalaleh, a city in Golestan province, he added.
The official said some 4,000 people were evacuated by late afternoon Saturday and a further 3,500 were taken out of the flood-stricken areas by early Sunday with the help of seven helicopters.
Another 800 people are still waiting to be be rescued from the area, he added.
Rescue teams are still searching for the missing people.
Meanwhile, the agency said two people had been killed in floods in Takab, a city in the northweastern West Azerbaijan province.
Local officials on Saturday called for essential supplies to be sent in, with tents and medicines for those affected.
According to reports reaching Tehran, traffic bound for the northeastern border area with Turkmenistan was re-routed to another road crossing the east of the country.
Infrastructure, mainly bridges, in the region have been damaged, the state IRNA news agency reported.
Iran has been suffering its most serious drought in 30 years.
For the past two days, the weather services have been warning people in the north of the country over the risks of flooding.
PHOTO CAPTION:
The caretaker of the Minoodasht clinic uses a bamboo pole to check the depth of water surrounding the clinic in northeastern Iran August 12, 2001. Flash floods sweeping northeast Iran have killed at least 108 people, but many more are feared dead. REUTERS/Str.