At least seven people killed near Tehran as heavy rains trigger landslides

Incident occurs less than a week after floods in the south left 22 people dead

Rescuers work following a flood in Imamzadeh Davoud village in the north of Tehran, Iran July 28, 2022. Iranian Red Crescent Society/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

People evacuate the village after flash floods. Heavy rains in the early hours of Thursday caused floods and then landslides and damaged Emamzadeh Davoud, a religious shrine. AP Photo

A vehicle and shop covered in mud after the flooding. AP Photo

Rescue workers clean up the village after the flooding. AP Photo

A pick-up truck axle-deep in mud from a landslide in Emamzadeh Davoud. AP Photo

A shopkeeper clears up after the flood. AP Photo

A muddy lane in Emamzadeh Davoud. AP Photo

Bulldozers clear mud from the Emamzadeh Davoud shrine after flash flooding on July 28, 2022. AP Photo

Buildings and vehicles were damaged by the floodwaters and subsequent mudslides. AP Photo

Flood damage in Emamzadeh Davoud. Reuters

Rescuers at work after the flood. Reuters

Shopkeepers and market stall-holders closed their businesses until the village can be cleared of mud. AP Photo

At least seven people died in floods near Tehran on Thursday after a landslide dumped mud four metres deep in a village west of the capital.

The flash flooding near Tehran, in the foothills of the Alborz mountains, occurred less than a week after floods in the normally arid south of Iran left 22 people dead, AFP reported.

Footage from the village of Emamzadeh Davoud posted on social media showed a teenager caked in mud clinging to a pole as a roaring spate of debris-filled water rushed past him.

Moments later a wall can be seen collapsing.

The Iranian Red Crescent (IRC) said six people were confirmed dead in the village with nine injured, while 14 others were missing.

More than 500 people were moved from the area, it said in a statement.

East of the capital, in Damavand, a body was recovered from floodwaters, state news agency IRNA reported.

The head of the IRC, 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 18 provinces across Iran, Mr Kolivand told IRNA, including Isfahan, Yazd and Fars, where 22 people died in flooding on Saturday.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that parts of Emamzadeh Davoud had been buried under up to four metres of mud and that the search for survivors was continuing.

President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the Tehran governor to take measures to prevent further incidents and to 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.