A landslide caused by heavy rains on Thursday killed at least six people in Tehran, Iranian state media reported, and as many as 14 people were reported still missing.
Officials warned that heavier rains were expected later Thursday. Yahya Saleh Tabari, head of Tehran’s emergency centre, urged people to avoid mountainous areas and riversides in the capital.
At least nine people were injured in the mud-slides triggered by flash floods that drenched the foothills of the Alborz mountains in the early hours of Thursday, damaging the Imamzadeh Davood shrine in northwestern Tehran.
The shrine, which dates back to the Safavid pe-riod (1501-1736), lies close to the Tochal ski resort and is a popular trekking route in the summer.
Iran shuts three cafes in Qom over unveiled women Tehran’s governor Mohsen Mansouri said residents had largely failed to heed warnings of heavy rains and possible floods.
He said several other areas of Greater Tehran were also hit by floods, including Pardis, Shemiranat and Damavand.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state television that heavy rains since Wednesday had caused floods and landslides in Emamzadeh Davoud, a tourist destination just outside Tehran, and that several vehicles were stuck in the mud or had been swept away.
Floods affected a total of 18 provinces across Iran, Kolivand told IRNA, including Isfahan, Yazd and Fars, where 22 people died in flooding on Sat-urday.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that parts of Emamzadeh Davoud had been buried under up to four metres (13 feet) of mud. He said the search for survivors was continuing. President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the Tehran governor to take measures to prevent further incidents and warn residents of the dangers, his office said.
In 2019, heavy rains in southern Iran killed at least 76 people and caused damage estimated at more than $2 billion. Meanwhile, the semi-official ISNA news agency said that flash floods killed five people in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan while one person died in the town of Rudehen, east of Tehran.
Before Thursday’s mudslide, authorities had warned residents of Tehran’s mountainous areas about heavy rains and possible floods. Heavy rains were expected again later on Thursday.
On Saturday, flash floods in Iran’s drought-stricken southern Fars province killed at least 21 people and affected about a dozen villages in the province..—Reuters
