Iran

Villagers Leaving Home due to Drought in Iran
Associated Press, April 25, 2000

A severe drought in Iran's arid Sistan-Baluchestan province is forcing villagers to leave their homes, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Tuesday. It quoted Adib Darvishi, governor of the city of Nikshahr in the eastern province, as saying that 157 families from nine villages have either already left or are in the process of doing so. "The meager rainfall that has resulted in the current critical situation has brought most of the cattle to the brink of perishing," IRNA quoted Darvishi as saying. The agency said that authorities believe that 17 of the nation's 28 provinces will be affected by drought this year. Mohammad Hassan Razavi, head of water affairs in the city of Qom in Iran's northern Markazi province, described this year's drought as "a national disaster," IRNA reported.

Iran Prtrolling Water Wastefulness
Earth Alert, May 21, 1999

A severe drought in Iran has forced government officials to create a water police force to monitor consumption and prevent the waste of the scarce resource. The agency's first assignment will be in the city of Gorgan, where residents face a water crisis this summer due to parched conditions since the beginning of the year. The capital city of Tehran will also have a force monitoring its streets due to an acute water shortage. An especially dry winter has left reserves 50 percent below last year's supply. In early January, thousands of Iranians in the holy city of Qom prayed for rain. The Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani told the faithful that sins such as murder, injustice and bad intention - as well as not trusting fellow Shiite Moslems - had kept the rain from coming.

Drought Displaced people, Wrecks Crops in Iran
Associated Press, August 19, 2000

Severe drought has ruined millions of dollars worth of crops and forced 50 families to abandon their homes in southeastern Iran, the country's official news agency reported Saturday. An agriculture official in Kerman province, Manouchehr Pourjamali, said the drought had dried up water reserves by 95 to 100 percent in Amjaz district, the Islamic Republic News Agency said. He said 970 hectares (2,397 acres) of citrus fruit orchards and 226 hectares (558 acres)of crops worth 28 billion rials (dlrs 3.5 million) have been completely destroyed, the agency reported. The Amjaz district is home to 1,450 families andhas 2,100 hectares (5,189 acres) of land under cultivation.

U.N More than Half of Iranians Affected by Drought
Associated Press, August 22, 2000

More than half the population of Iran already is affected by the worst drought in more than 30 years, and the situation will worsen in the coming months, the United Nations said Tuesday. "Our assessment of the situation is that it is critical, and if no appropriate measures are taken now, we would face a fully-fledged disaster," said Vladimir Sakharov, of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who led a mission to assess the situation in Iran from July 22 to Aug. 8. He said living conditions are worsening by the day for the 37 million people affected. The biggest problem is a lack of drinking water, the mission found. An estimated 800,000 animals already have died and the United Nations is concerned that up to 60 percent of the rural population may move into cities.