Flood Death Toll in Iran Reaches 67 as Rescue Continues
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The death toll from spring floods in Iran reached 67 as rescue workers pulled one more body from a river in the northern province of Mazandaran.
Chairman of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization announced on Friday that the death toll from the devastating floods across the county has reached 67.
According to Ahmad Shojaee, the highest number of casualties occurred in the province of Fars with 21 deaths, followed by the western province of Lorestan where 15 people have died.
Record spring rainfall that has battered Iran in the past weeks caused serious flooding in many areas, mainly the provinces of Golestan, Lorestan, Khuzestan, Fars and Ilam, forcing thousands to leave their homes.
While residents in some western areas are still in need of relief aid, the Army Ground Force, the IRGC, and Basij have deployed forces, heavy military machinery, aircraft and boats to the disaster zones.
On Friday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force said its helicopters have rescued around 200 people trapped by flood waters in the rural areas of Ilam.
On Wednesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei reminded the Iranian officials that the main task must be to repair the damages caused by the floods across the country.
In a message on Friday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani proposed a plan to set up the same makeshift pavilions providing service for Arbaeen pilgrims in the flood-stricken areas.
General Soleimani said he and the other veterans of the Sacred Defense (Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s) are ready to cooperate with the other organizations in setting up Arbaeen-style pavilions from the next week and serve the people in Poldokhtar, Soosangerd, Bostan and other flood-hit regions for a month.
During Arbaeen season, when millions of pilgrims travel to the Iraqi city of Karbala on foot to pay tribute to Imam Hussain (PBUH), Iranian volunteers set up hundreds of pavilions and congregation halls to provide free food, beverage, accommodation and medical services for the travelers.
