DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it faced an emergency in a southwestern province threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported.

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of flooding in Golestan province, Iran March 27, 2019. Official Iranian President website/Handout via REUTERS

Some 56 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan may have to be evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain, the provincial governor, Gholamreza Shariati, told state television.

“Some residents are resisting (evacuation calls) because of their livestock...and because they’ve experienced similar circumstances in the past,” Shariati said, adding Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had agreed to call an emergency in Khuzestan.

Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to “control floodwaters and to minimize possible damage”.

“It’s estimated that in the next five days about three billion cubic meters of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall ... 1.8 billion of which (is above capacity and) will have to be released,” he told state television.

The semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Shariati as saying floods could also threaten the provincial capital Ahvaz if the rain is at the highest end of forecasts.

In the neighboring province of Lorestan, at least eight villages and parts of the town of Dorud were being evacuated, the semi-official news agency Fars reported.

Officials have said the government would compensate residents for flood damage.

At least 45 people were killed this week in flash floods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains recorded in Iran in at least a decade, the state news agency IRNA quoted Health Minister Saeid Namaki as saying.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.

Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz new year holiday, a time when many families travel.

Iran has implemented measures to prevent rain and flooding affecting its main crude oil export terminal on Kharg Island in the Gulf, the head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company told the semi-official news agency Mehr on Saturday.

National Iranian Gas Company said earlier its pipeline network had not been affected by the bad weather.</s>This handout photo provided by the Iranian presidency on Wednesday shows areas affected by floods in the country’s north-eastern Golestan region (AFP photo)

DUBAI — Authorities in Iran worked on Saturday to evacuate villages threatened by flooding in southwestern areas as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people this week, state media reported.

State television said at least 11 villages lying near the Dez and Karkheh rivers in the oil-rich south-western province of Khuzestan were being evacuated as officials released water from two major dams along the rivers due to forecasts for more rain.

Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is in charge of water resources, said authorities were working round-the-clock to “control floodwaters and to minimise possibe damage”.

“It’s estimated that in the next five days about 3 billion cubic metres of water will flow into dam reservoirs in Khuzestan due to rainfall ... 1.8 billion of which [is above capacity and] will have to be released,” he told state television.

Government officials have said no cities will have to be evacuated but that damage to villages and farms near rivers is likely, vowing to compensate farmers for the loss of crops or livestock.

At least 45 people were killed earlier this week in flashfloods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains recorded in Iran in at least a decade, the state news agency IRNA quoted Health Minister Saeid Namaki as saying.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.

Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz New year holiday, a time when many families travel.

Iran has implemented measures to stop the rainfall and flooding affecting its main crude oil export terminal on Kharg Island in the Gulf, the head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company told the semi-official news agency Mehr on Saturday.

National Iranian Gas Company said earlier that its pipeline network had not been affected by the bad weather.</s>GENEVA (Reuters) - The risk of floods has forced the Iranian government to order the evacuation of 70 villages in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The villages were close to the Dez and Karkheh rivers, Shush county governor Adnan Qazi said, quoted by IRNA.

At least 45 people were killed in the past two weeks in flash floods in northern and southern Iran after the heaviest rains in at least a decade.

Iran has announced a state of emergency in southern provinces threatened by flooding and has evacuated dozens of villages already.

Floods have affected at least 23 out of Iran’s 31 provinces since heavy downpours began on March 19.

Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.</s>GENEVA/DUBAi (Reuters) - Flood risks have forced the Iranian government to order the evacuation of 70 villages in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan on Tuesday, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

The villages were close to the Dez and Karkheh rivers, Shush county governor Adnan Qazi was quoted by IRNA as saying.

At least 47 people were killed in the past two weeks in flash floods in various provinces in Iran, from north to south, after the heaviest rains in the country in at least a decade.

Iran has announced a state of emergency in several provinces threatened by flooding and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes in the flood-hit provinces, where dozens of villages have been evacuated already.

President Hassan Rouhani, accused by critics of mishandling the crisis, has promised compensation to all those affected.

The head of the judiciary, hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, has said that officials who mishandled the disaster and caused the death of civilians could face prosecution.

Authorities are concerned about rising threats of dam failures and water releases that could create further damage in various provinces.

Officials in Tehran have called on people to stay away from rivers and areas near dams, saying that all the relevant organizations were on high-alert due to possibility of flooding in the capital that

Floods have affected at least 26 out of Iran’s 31 provinces since heavy downpours began on March 19.

Western provinces of the country have been hit by the worst of the flooding and southwestern provinces expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.</s>Morteza Salimi said relief operations are seriously underway in 123 cities, villages, tribal areas and mountainous roads across Iran.

“Over the past 48 hours, 23 provinces have been struggling with heavy floods and their disasters,” he said.

The provinces are as follows: East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Ilam, Bushehr, Tehran, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Semnan, Fars, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Kohkiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Golestan, Lorestan, Mazandaran, Markazi and Hamedan.

According to Salimi, 50,138 people in the affected areas have been sheltered and efforts are underway to provide about 3,015 other people with emergency services over the past two days.

He went on to say that so far 143 residential units have been evacuated from water by 26 mechanical pumps in the flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, a large number of blankets, cans, mineral water bottles and other necessary items have been gathered and sent to the affected areas.

Iranian emergency officials have issued warnings against camping alongside rivers and streams over possible flash floods.

People have also been called to stay away from dangerous areas as heavy rains continue in northern, western and southwestern parts of the country. In the capital Tehran, 10,000 civil defence forces are on alert as more rain is anticipated. Several Iranian provinces were hit by rare flash floods in the past week. According to Iran’s Red Crescent Society, the disaster has claimed the lives of at least 45 people so far. Aid and relief operations are in full swing in the affected areas.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday that U.S. sanctions were impeding aid workers from sending helicopters to flood-hit regions of the country because of the poor state of the national helicopter fleet.

The country has announced an emergency situation in southern

provinces threatened by flooding and has evacuated dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed more than 45 people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet that U.S. sanctions were “impeding aid efforts by #IranianRedCrescent to all communities devastated by unprecedented floods.”

A deal with world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program in 2015 opened the way for Iranian airlines to update their fleets, but U.S President Donald Trump withdrew from that deal last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Floods have affected at least 23 out of Iran’s 31 provinces since heavy downpours began on March 19. Western and southwestern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the storms in the days ahead.

The commander of the army’s ground forces told state television that 20 of their helicopters were deployed to flooded areas to evacuate villagers.

Police renewed calls for people to avoid unnecessary journeys even though Iran is celebrating the Nowruz new year holiday, a time when many families travel.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last week that it was ready to offer help to Iran, but challenges caused by U.S. sanctions could affect the U.N. response.

Officials have said the government would compensate residents for flood damage.
The Iranian government announces an emergency in southwestern provinces threatened by flooding and worked to evacuate dozens of villages as forecasters predicted more of the heavy rains that have killed at least 45 people last week.