Iran floods leave 21 dead and one missing

The heavy rainfall comes as the country battles the deadly coronavirus pandemic

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the Cabinet meeting, as the coronavirus continues to spread in the country. Reuters

Flooding in Iran caused by heavy rainfall has left 21 people dead and one missing.

On Wednesday, emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told Iran’s Isna news agency that 22 people had also been injured, with most of the casualties in southern or central provinces.

He said 11 people died in Fars province, three each in Hormozgan and Qom, two in Sistan and Baluchistan province, and one each in Bushehr and Khuzestan.

Mr Khaledi said one person was still missing in Hormozgan on the Gulf coast.

Flooding last week killed 12 people, and Mr Khaledi warned more heavy rain was on its way.

Iran is already battling one of the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreaks, with more than 3,000 deaths and almost 48,000 cases of the virus reported.

In March and April last year, heavy rainfall and flooding killed at least 76 people in the country.

At the time, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated 10 million people were affected, describing the floods as “the largest disaster to hit Iran in more than 15 years”.