TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) provided rescue services to 5,442 individuals affected by blizzards, floods, and heavy rain over the past few days.

The rescue services are still going on in 16 provinces of the country, namely West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Ilam, Bushehr, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Fars, Kordestan, Kermanshah, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, Lorestan, Markazi, and Hamedan, IRCS quoted Mohammad Kobadi, an official with the IRCS, as saying.

According to Kobadi, some 5,130 people received relief services. The rescue team transferred an individual (a pregnant mother) to the hospital and 95 others to safe places; they also provided emergency accommodation to 790 individuals.

The rescuers pulled 1,087 vehicles out of the snow, cleaned 217 houses out of mud, he added.

A total of 2,218 people received basic goods and sanitary items, including 1,469 blankets, 387 mats, 27 tents, 314 food packages (that would last for 72 hours), 388 packs of biscuits, 375 bottles of water, 437 kg of plastics, 175 canned foods, four kg of dates, 130 loaves of bread, and 33 sanitary packages.

IRCS is a key humanitarian actor

In November, Hossam Elsharkawi, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), highlighted the role of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) as one of the region’s and the world’s key humanitarian actors.

Lauding the IRCS efforts, Elsharkawi congratulated Pirhossein Kolivand’s re-election as the head of the IRCS, saying that the IRCS decisions are highly effective at international levels, IRNA reported.

The official made the remarks in an online meeting with Kolivand on Thursday. During the meeting, the two officials discussed ways to foster collaborative efforts, develop rescue systems to enhance the country’s preparedness and response capabilities, and conduct international meetings and conferences in Iran.

The IRCS proposed hosting an international Islamic youth conference and the conference of leaders of national societies from Islamic countries.

The two sides also emphasized the need to implement the previously signed memoranda of understanding between the two organizations to lay the ground for promoting educational, operational, and logistic collaborations.

The IRCS also suggested introducing an expert to follow up on managerial and technical cooperation with the Regional Office for MENA.

Water tension to persist despite precipitations

The country is grappling with one of the most intense and unprecedented drought events recorded in history. However, precipitations are forecast to increase from December 7 on. In the first two months of winter, rainfall is forecast to be normal and higher than last year’s amount.

According to the head of the Meteorological Organization, Ahad Vazifeh, water tension will continue despite projected normal rainfall in winter.

During the last month of the summer, 4.1 mm of rainfall was registered across the country, which has decreased by 2.5 percent compared to the long-term figure of 4.2 mm.

Throughout the summer, recorded rainfall amounted to 8 mm, showing a 27.9 percent decline in comparison to the long-term figure of 11.1 mm.

According to official statistics, groundwater levels and dams’ storage have noticeably dropped, and water stress is being felt more than ever in densely populated areas, threatening water security, increasing the likelihood of land subsidence, and intensifying drought.

Iran is facing an unprecedented water crisis that threatens not only its agricultural sector but also regional stability and global food markets.

MT/MG