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PM Imran Khan offers humanitarian assistance to flood-hit Iran

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Iran flooding kills 70 after record rainfalls

(CNN)Seventy people have died in flooding in Iran after record rainfalls began saturating parts of the country last month, state-run media reported.

Deaths have been recorded across 13 provinces, with the highest casualties in Fars, Lorestan, Golestan and Hamedan, state-run IRNA quotes the head of Iran's Coroner's Office, Ahmad Shojaei, as saying.

The semi-official Mehr News agency says record rainfalls since March 19 have so far flooded some 1,900 cities and villages across Iran, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to water and agriculture infrastructures.

"Over 140 rivers have burst their banks and some 409 landslides have been reported in the country, it reported, adding that 78 roads had been blocked and 84 bridges in flood-stricken areas affected.

Officials on Saturday warned residents in the province of Khuzestan of rising water levels and urged them to take evacuation notices seriously, IRNA reported.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent said it was helping thousands of people affected by the flooding.

"Red Crescent volunteers and staff have evacuated hundreds of people to safety, and have distributed food and items such as tents, blankets and health kits to tens of thousands of people," the organization's Middle East and North Africa director, Sayed Hashem, said.

Iran accuses US of hindering aid

The speaker of Iran's Parliament, Ali Larijani on Saturday reiterated Tehran's accusations that the United States is hindering the delivery of relief aid from the International Red Cross to Iran's Red Crescent Society.

"Iran has not received even a dollar from the Red Cross due to US measures and sanctions," Mehr quoted him as saying.

On April 2, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement extending condolences to the victims of the flooding in Iran and blaming its government for the disaster.

A helicopter carrying aid in the flooded village of Bamdezh, April 5.

"These floods once again show the level of Iranian regime
mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness. The regime blames outside entities when, in fact, it is their mismanagement that has led to this disaster," he said. "The United States stands ready to assist and contribute to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which would then direct the money through the Iranian Red Crescent for relief."

Iran's Foreign Minister responded angrily on Twitter two days later.

"It seems the US Secretary of State is unaware of the mismanagement of natural disasters in the US over the past two years, and hence opines -- in an unprofessional, interventionist and demagogic manner -- on Iran's management of the horrific and unprecedented floods which simultaneously afflicted 24 provinces," Zarif said, before referencing Hurricanes Harvey, Michael and Florence and Maria.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/07/middleeast/iran-flood-fatalities/index.html
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our prayers go to the people of Iran as they deal with unprecedented flooding. We stand ready to provide any humanitarian assistance required.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1114884109300588545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday extended Islamabad’s support to the people of Iran after a wave of deadly floods claimed at least 70 lives in the neighbouring country.

The premier spoke out via Twitter, praying for the safety of Iranian people after authorities issued warnings of more floods.

Premier Imran offered his immediate support whenever required.
“Our prayers go to the people of Iran as they deal with unprecedented flooding. We stand ready to provide any humanitarian assistance required,” he stated.


Pakistan, Iran relations ‘back on track’

Earlier on April 6, Iranian authorities had ordered the evacuation of six cities along the Karkheh river in southwestern Khuzestan province after more rain sparked fears of new flooding.

Six cities alongside Karkheh river in southwestern Iran “must be evacuated as soon as possible,” Khuzestan governor Gholamreza Shariati said.

The oil-rich province of Khuzestan has an extensive range of dams, which have swelled upstream due to fresh downpours.

The floodwater’s intensity has forced authorities to open emergency discharges at Karkheh dam, one of the largest in the area, thus sparking fears of fresh flooding.

The situation appears to be “critical”, he said.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1945531/1-pm-imran-offers-humanitarian-assistance-flood-hit-iran/
 
In times of strife, all Muslims need to help each other and forget about divisions etc - Good offer by Imran
 
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), on Prime Minister Imran Khan's directives, has dispatched 32 tons of relief goods as humanitarian assistance to flood-hit Iran, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

The consignment comprises two shipments containing 500 tents, 3,300 blankets and emergency medical kits. The first shipment has already been dispatched to the Iranian city of Ahwaz, the FO said in a statement.

"Pakistanis stand by their Iranian brethren at this difficult time," it added.

The development came after the prime minister on Sunday sympathised with the people of Iran and said that his government was ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to the neighbouring country.

A day later, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi conveyed to his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif that Pakistan would send two planeloads of relief goods.

Iran has been facing massive floods for the past three weeks in which nearly 70 people have lost their lives, while thousands have been displaced and large scale losses to infrastructures have also been reported.

Tehran says international assistance for the relief effort has been impeded because of US sanctions.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1475176/p...st-shipment-of-relief-goods-to-flood-hit-iran
 
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