?Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows a house submerged by flood in Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran. Recent flood damages in Iran are estimated to be 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, Financial Tribune daily reported on Monday. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)
TEHRAN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Recent flood damages in Iran are estimated to be 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, Financial Tribune daily reported on Monday.
The announcement was made by the Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli in Iran's parliament.
"Unprecedented" heavy rainfall and subsequent floods have inundated 25 of Iran's 31 provinces since March 19, Rahmani Fazli was quoted as saying.
Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati said that the subsectors of agriculture incurred losses of up to 948.9 million U.S. dollars due to the floods.
"Farms, orchards, livestock, poultry and bee farms were the hardest-hit," Hojjati told the parliament.
Besides, Roads and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami put the damages to roads, railroads, bridges and related facilities and infrastructure at 237.22 million dollars.
"More than 14,000 kilometers of roads have suffered damages. About 725 bridges have been totally destroyed," Eslami was quoted as saying by Eghtesadonline news website on Monday.
According to the Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, water and electricity facilities across the flood-stricken provinces suffered 153.3 million dollars in loss.
"Some 2,352 rural areas suffered electricity outages," said the minister.
"We have managed to reconnect all villages, except 35, to the electricity network until now," Ardakanian said, adding that "water supply to 3,788 rural areas was cut off during the floods. Right now, the problem persists in only 1.5 percent of these villages."
Other sectors like industry, mining, business outlets and communication infrastructures of Iran have suffered a total loss of 255 million dollars in the Iranian floods, according to Eghtesadonline.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered to withdraw two billion euros (2.26 billion dollars) from the National Development Fund to be allocated for alleviating the plight of flood-hit residents and helping rebuild destroyed infrastructures.
The recent floodings in most parts of Iran have claimed the lives of at least 76 people.
In the heavy downpours in north, west and southwest of the country, hundreds were injured.
Iranian officials are warning that even though floodwaters have been receding in most parts of the country, several provinces remain under the flood alerts due to renewed heavy precipitation.
Ahad Vazifeh, an official with Iran's Meteorological Organization, said Sunday that there is a possibility that flash floods could still affect the southern provinces of Fars and Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan in the southeast as well as South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi provinces in the northeast of the country which are in a state of emergency.
Rainfall is also expected to intensify in the southwestern Province of Khuzestan, he said.
