Tabnak – Unprecedented heavy rains over the past week has resulted in a flood in Iran’s northern provinces. After the Iranian Supreme Leader’s order, various governmental bodies are mobilizing their forces to overcome the crisis and help the victims of the flood get relief.
Yesterday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei ordered Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri to dispatch more equipment and facilities to the flood-hit people in the northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran.
In a message to Major General Baqeri released on Saturday night, Ayatollah Khamenei said according to the received information, the flood-stricken people in the two provinces are in dire need of assistance and equipment of the Armed forces. The Leader further asked him to order the dispatch of more equipment to the two provinces for relief operations.
Consequently, Major General Baqeri, issued instructions to commanders in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the Iranian Army, Police, and the Defense Ministry that forces under their command should continue “full and organized” assistance in flood-hit areas in a coordinated manner.
The Iranian military official also appointed his deputy, Major General Ataollah Salehi, as the on-scene commander at the head of a group of high-ranking military chiefs to coordinate relief efforts between the Armed Forces and civilian organizations on the ground.
In the same vein, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered senior officials of the country to make rapid efforts to provide assistance for the flood-hit people. In a statement issued on Saturday morning, Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to speed up measures taken to help the people in the two provinces and dispatch necessary equipment and facilities from neighboring provinces.
The president also asked Rahmani Fazli to visit the flood-hit areas at the head of a delegation of rescue and medical officials as soon as possible.
In another related development, Iran’s First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri dismissed the governor-general of Golestan Province, Seyyed Manaf Hashemi, following public outrage at his absence from work. He reportedly traveled abroad after the disaster hit. The Iranian first vice-president has replaced Hashemi with one of his deputies.
On the same day, Jahangiri headed a crisis management meeting held in the provincial capital of Gorgan, where he said the Iranian establishment would draw on all of its capabilities to help the victims of the flooding.
Heavy rains have battered the northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran, leaving homes flooded and others without power. At least 70 villages in Golestan and more than 200 in Mazandaran are inundated. Aqqala is the worst hit where landslides have killed two people, according to Director General of Golestan's Crisis Management Department Mojtaba Jamali.
High water has forced evacuations of several small farm communities as all farmland has been swamped, local reports said.
