A report shows that flash floods that swept through various parts of Iran in recent days significantly raised the inflows of water into dams at a time the country was facing a major drought and potential water shortages in crowded urban areas.

The Tuesday report by the official IRNA news agency said that some 318 million cubic meters (cm) of water had flown into the Iranian dams and reservoirs after several days of heavy summer rains that started in late July.

The report cited Iranian Energy Ministry figures and said that more than 6 billion cm of floodwater could have been stored as a result of recent rainfalls in Iran.

However, it said that inflows into Iranian dams from total rains recorded since late June this year had amounted to a record of 1.288 billion cm.

The figures showed that some 4.727 billion cm of water had also reached aquifers or other natural water storage systems such as wetlands and ponds.

Iran has seen unprecedented levels of summer precipitation this year with Energy Ministry figures showing that rainfall reported in the country reached 14.6 millimeters in the 11 days since July 23, a four-fold increase compared with the long-run average.

The increased precipitation came at a time the water stored behind Iranian dams was at critically low levels, causing concerns about declining water supplies in large cities.

That comes as the heavy rainfall caused fatalities and destruction in dozens of towns and villages in Iran and inflicted heavy losses on the country’s agriculture sector.

 

 

By PRESS TV