Floods in Iran; Preparedness in All Provinces, State of Emergency in Khuzestan

Simultaneously with the meteorological organization warning about heavy rainfall in the west, center, and north of Iran, the Minister of Interior announced a state of 'preparedness' in all provinces, and according to the governor of Khuzestan, a state of 'emergency' has been approved in this province. According to the Iranian meteorological organization, from Sunday to Tuesday (April 1 to 3), the western, central, and northern parts of Iran will witness 'heavy rain and thunderstorms.' Meanwhile, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, announced on Saturday that all provinces have been put on 'preparedness' ahead of new rainfall, declaring Khuzestan, Golestan, and Lorestan as 'priority' provinces. According to Rahmani Fazli, in recent days, 24 provinces in Iran have been affected by floods. Additionally, according to the police, 28 roads in the country remain blocked due to flooding. In Khuzestan province, concerns about continued flooding and the potential overflow of dams in the province persist. The Minister of Interior attended a crisis management meeting last night, which included the Vice President of the Parliament, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, the Mayor of Tehran, the head of the Foundation of the Oppressed, deputy ministers, representatives of the armed forces, and members of the national crisis management committee. The acting governor of Golestan and the governor of Khuzestan provided reports on the latest status of flood-affected areas and the preparations and forecasts for the coming days. Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, mentioned on Saturday that the Minister of Interior has agreed to declare a state of 'emergency' in this province, stating that all organizations involved in the crisis management committee of Khuzestan are required to cancel their employees' leave until conditions normalize. Shariati predicted that 'from Sunday, we will be severely affected for at least five days,' stating that so far, 14 villages in Khuzestan have been evacuated, and more than 36 villages need to be evacuated. Meanwhile, Mostafa Samali, the governor of Izeh, reported the potential submersion of the village of 'Mir Ahmad Gharibiha' due to rainfall and landslides. According to Samali, 120 families live in this village who need to be relocated, with the evacuation of 50 families at risk being prioritized. Some officials from other provinces in Iran have also reported evacuations of certain villages and towns. Meanwhile, Mousa Khadami, the governor of Lorestan, stated that 18,000 people from the city of Dorud and 10,000 residents from the downstream villages of the 'Marouek' dam must evacuate their homes. Reza Mirzaei, the CEO of the Lorestan Regional Water Company, also stated that a 'crisis and emergency' situation has been declared in the cities of Dorud, Khorramabad, Sarab Doreh, and Pol-e Dokhtar. Despite implicit criticism from Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the claim that the explosion in Aq Qala had 'no effect' on reducing water outflow from the area, the IRGC conducted another explosion in the region on Saturday. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, stated during a visit to flood-affected areas in Golestan province that 'the only way to transfer water to the sea was through blasting the rail and opening the path.' Without mentioning Rouhani, Jafari expressed hope that 'with the explosions that will take place today, we will no longer be accused of transferring water from one side to the other, as this is the only way to transfer water.' On April 4, the IRGC exploded part of the railway line between Gorgan and Incheh Borun at three points north of Aq Qala, and on April 7, under the direct order of Jafari, part of the 'Charghali-Gomishan' road was also exploded. Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the IRGC, referred to these explosions as 'explosions of hope,' and IRGC-affiliated media widely covered these explosions as 'documents of the proud management of jihad.' However, Hassan Rouhani stated that blasting the road and railway had 'no effect' and that water had 'moved from one side to the other.' According to Rouhani, the elevation of this area is not far from the height of the Caspian Sea, which is why water was not draining in these areas. The railway line between Gorgan and Incheh Borun, part of which was exploded by the IRGC on April 4, was constructed by the Khatam Headquarters. Noor Mohammad Torbati Nejad, a representative from Gorgan in the Parliament, stated a few days ago in a crisis management meeting in Golestan that this railway is in the path of the flood because 'water passages' were not designed for it during construction. On Saturday, the Tasnim news agency reported that torrential rains in Ilam province had revealed 'mines' and 'shells' from the war. According to this report, these munitions left over from the war are being examined by 'check and neutralization units.' The Iranian Legal Medicine Organization announced on Saturday that the number of fatalities from the recent floods across the country has reached 42, with 19 of them occurring in the floods in Shiraz. According to Abdolrazak Mousavi, a member of the Shiraz City Council and head of the fact-finding committee in this council, he stated to IRNA on Saturday that 'manipulation of nature' has caused the recent floods. Many users have cited the cause of the recent floods as 'deforestation' in previous years, construction in the riverbanks of Golestan province, and irresponsible exploitation of mines. Meanwhile, journalist Yashar Soltani tweeted that according to a report from the General Inspection Organization, 70% of the forests in Golestan province are under the control of 'influential companies and organizations.' According to this report, the Golestan Seminary controls 47,013 hectares, the 25th Karbala Brigade of the IRGC controls 13,000 hectares, the Pishgamane Sazandegi Institute controls 8,690 hectares, and the Astan Quds controls 991 hectares of the forests in this region. Previously, Isa Kalantari, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization, stated that 60 years ago, there were 2.8 million hectares of forest in northern Iran, but now it has decreased to 1.3 million hectares.