TEHRAN – The biggest challenge the flood-stricken provinces are facing is mostly the destruction of landfills by flood, Tasnim news agency reported.

Landfill is a system of waste disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land.

The issue has been addressed during the fourth meeting of special working group on the environmental and health threats in flood-affected provinces. 

The other issue that must be overcome is to fix damages to the wastewater treatment infrastructure, which might bring discomfort for the regions’ residents, the report added.

Flood carried garbage dumped in the landfills across some provinces contaminating the environment.

Ali Asghar Farshad, head of the secretariat of supreme council for health and food safety further called for an urgent pursuit in revitalization of provincial infrastructure, such as waste disposal management, urban wastewater treatment, and the rehabilitation of refineries.

Extreme rainfall, starting on March 19, has caused flooding in 28 out of 31 provinces affecting 42,269,129 inhabitants in 253 cities nationwide.

FB/MQ/MG