At least 21 people have died and two are still missing as heavy rains hit areas in Iran’s southern province of Fars, officials said yesterday.
“Twenty-one people died, two are still missing,” the director of the Red Crescent Society in the province of Hussein Darwichi said as a result of heavy rains that hit the Istakhban region, official television reported. .
Esteban is located about 170 km east of the city of Shiraz, the provincial capital.
A previous report published by the official media stated that 17 people were killed and six more were missing.
The flooding occurred on a summer weekend when many Iranian families take the opportunity to take walks in mild climates such as riverbanks, lakesides and mountainous areas.
Videos released by Iranian news agencies show muddy torrents in the course of the Rodbal River, which washed away several cars.
A man appeared, pulling children out of the back seat of a car parked on the river bank, fearing that he would be swept away by water, and he suffered the same fate as a white car surrounded by water and carried across a stream.
Panic and tension arose among people on the spot, and the person filming with a mobile phone repeated the phrase “Rudbal flood”.
Scientists believe that climate change is exacerbating extreme climate events, including droughts, in addition to the potential for increased intensity of storms and rainfall.
