Flooding in western Iran after months of severe drought

Heavy rainfall in western Iran triggered flooding that damaged roads, homes, and infrastructure, after months of drought that has resulted in the country’s worse water shortage in decades.

The authorities said on Sunday that a town near Abdanan, received 52 millimetres of rain in just 45 minutes, leading to sudden flooding, and reached 73 millimetres by the end of the day.

No casualties were immediately reported in the area which has a population of around 3,000.

On Monday, Iran's meteorological organisation issued a warning for flooding in six western regions and said it rain was expected in 18 out of the country’s 31 provinces.

Prolonged and extreme dry conditions increase the risk of flash floods as droughts decrease the soil's ability to absorb water.

Rainfall levels across Iran have been 85 per cent below average, depleting dams and causing taps to run dry, including in parts of the capital, Tehran.

Experts and officials say poor water management, illegal well drilling, inefficient agricultural practices, and climate change have contributed to the prolonged crisis.

The flooding in the west comes as Iran on Saturday performed its first cloud-seeding this year over the Urmia Lake basin in the north-west, which has largely dried out.

Its a technique that has been around for decades and involves spraying clouds with chemicals to induce rain.

President Masoud Pezeshkian recently warned that if there was not enough rainfall soon, Tehran's water supply could be rationed and people may be evacuated from the city.