TEHRAN
\nAt least eight people have been killed in flash flooding in Iran\u2019s south due to heavy rains expected to last until later this week, state media reported on Tuesday.
\n\u201cFollowing the floods and rains of the past few days in the southern regions of the country, we have seen an increase in casualties and deaths,\u201d spokesman for the national rescue service Mojtaba Khaledi said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
\n\u201cSo far eight people have died and two are still missing,\u201d Khaledi said, adding that 14 others had been injured.
\nFive of the deaths occurred in Fars province, local crisis management official Rahim Azadi told the state news agency.
\nA local official had said Monday that at least two people were killed in flash flooding in the province.
\nHeavy rain damaged \u201cagriculture, infrastructure, urban and rural housing,\u201d Azadi said.
\nIran\u2019s Red Crescent has provided \u201cemergency accommodation for more than 3,000 people, and over 20,000 have received relief assistance,\u201d its head of rescue and emergency operations Mehdi Valipour told state television.
\n\u201cHouses have been flooded and infrastructure such as roads and communication systems have been damaged,\u201d he said, adding that more than 500 teams were providing assistance in parts of the country\u2019s south and east.
\nPictures published by the Red Crescent on Tuesday showed its personnel setting up tents in sports halls and assisting cars trapped on flooded roads or stuck in snow-covered mountain areas.
\nRelief operations were underway in 87 cities across more than half of Iran\u2019s 31 provinces, it added.
\nThe weather system is expected to last until Friday, an official from Iran\u2019s meteorological agency told state television.
\nBad weather has been affecting not only southern Iran but also Arab countries in the Gulf in recent days, with several issuing weather warnings.
\nTorrential rainfall has hit the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and caused widespread flooding in the region.
\nLargely arid, Iran has endured repeated droughts over the past decade, but also regular floods.
\nIn 2019, heavy flooding in the country\u2019s south left at least 76 people dead and caused damage estimated at more than $2 billion.
\nScientists say climate change amplifies droughts and that their intensity and frequency in turn threaten food security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN At least eight people have been killed in flash flooding in Iran\u2019s south due to heavy rains expected to last until later this week, state media reported on Tuesday. \u201cFollowing the floods and rains of the past few days in the southern regions of the country, we have seen an increase in casualties and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-236864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n