Iran flood death toll rises to 76; five provinces still at risk

AVA- Vast expanses of the country are experiencing a new spell of rainfall, Ahad Vazifeh, an official with Iran’s Meteorological Organization, was quoted by Tasnim News Agency as saying on Sunday.
Five provinces at risk
There is a possibility that flash floods could still affect the southern provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan as well as the northeastern South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi provinces, which remain in a state of emergency, he added.
Rainfall is also expected to intensify in the southwestern Province of Khuzestan, the official cautioned.
Massive downpours began sweeping the country on March 19, with raging currents of water battering houses, washing away cars and killing people in a few provinces.
The intense rainfalls eventually caused rivers to burst their banks, and dams to overflow, triggering the worst flooding in decades in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces.
Death toll rises
Also on Sunday, the country’s Forensic Medicine Organization increased the death toll from the ongoing floods to 76. Most recently, the organization said, flooding claimed the lives of five people in Khuzestan Province and left a sixth person dead in the western Province of Ilam.
On Sunday, several ministers of President Hassan Rouhani's cabinet went to the Parliament to brief the lawmakers on the disaster response and relief operations in flood-hit cities and villages.
Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said around 14,000 kilometers of national roads had been damaged by the floods.