Iran Flash floods 2019 overtake Golestan & Mazandaran provinces

Flash floods overtake Iran's provinces including Golestan and Mazandaran provinces in March 2019.
At the cusp of the Iranian New Year celebrations, Golestan and Mazandaran provinces faced one of the worst floods in their history.
The flood started after two days of heavy rainfall. According to the government stats, over 9 people were killed, including 2 children. More than 10,000 houses were caught in the floods; 70 communicative roads were cut off, and 23,000 people were trapped in the floods.
"The damage to the agricultural sector is estimated at $315 million in Golestan and Mazandaran province,” said Mohammad Mousavi, secretary of the Crisis Management and Risk Mitigation Office.
The Iranian Regime did nothing to protect the people despite warnings by the weather organization.
According to Entekhab state-run news agency, Manaf Hashemi, the governor of Golestan went on vacation abroad during the flood crisis.
The Iranian regime’s relief efforts were very limited, and most of the help to Iran flood 2019 victims came from voluntary aid by fishermen and farmers.

What were the reasons for the Golestan/Mazandaran floods?
The reason wasn’t the heavy rainfall alone, and the floods could have been easily managed.

One of the main reasons is deforestation and the looting of the natural resources of northern Iran by the regime officials and its organizations including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The reasons for deforestation by the Iranian regime’s elements and officials are:
-Profiteering from selling wood;
-Constructing expensive houses for regime officials;
-Razing the forest to use the land for building factories.

The head of Mazandaran Natural Resources Department Vajihollah Mousavi exposed that, "We can see the villas pop up in faraway lands of Mazandaran owned by a former MPs or high-ranking officials… These villas have been raised in the middle of untouched country land and mountains."
In 2012 FAO declared that Iran's forests are being destroyed at a higher speed than everywhere in the world.
"Iran's northern forest reduced by 50% since 40 years ago. When we destroyed half of the forests, then rainfall is no more a gift but every rainfall strikes a flood,” said Massoud Molana, a member of Coordinating Council of National Natural Resources."
The ISNA state-run news agency also quoted Anoushiravan Najafi, deputy chief of the natural environment in the Environment Protection Organization, saying, "6,603 acres of Iran's northern forests are completely being destroyed every year.”

The second factor that played an essential role in Golestan/Mazandaran floods was Iranian regime authorities refraining from dredging dams and rivers.
"Sediments have filled Golestan dams, but authorities haven't taken any measure to dredge up dams. The result was that dams could not hold the floods and quickly overflew, releasing the flood toward populated lands.” (State-run news website Rouydad24)
As an example, half of Voshmgir dam had been filled with sediments. The regime was supposed to solve the dam's problems during a 5-year time table since 2008, but after 10 years, just 15% of the project has been fulfilled.
A simple study in the Iranian Regime's budget shows the regime's priorities. Figures clarify that not only the mullahs aren’t trying to improve Iranian people's welfare, but they’re also spending the country's wealth and budget to preserve their dictatorship:
IRGC's budget for suppression and expansion of terrorism: $4.8 billion
The regime's financial helps to Lebanese Hezbollah: $800 million
Iran's mullahs' educational center: $644 million
Iran's natural resources budget: $77.5 million
The budget needed for improvement of Voshmgir dam in Golestan: $13 million

So as long as this dictatorship exists, such disasters will recur.

[danialt.]

I watched it till the last minute. Very informative. Tnx

[wahabnur]

مدت ۴۰سال است که رژیم خواب و رویای متصل کردن دریای مازندران را به دریای عمان داشت ولی به دلیل بودجه سنگین قادر به انجام آن نبود. ولی به فضل خدا الان شمال ایران به جنوب ایران با هزینه ای نه چندان با بارانهای الهی متصل شد. الا برکت الله.