Heavy Rains In Northwestern Iran Trigger Deadly Landslides, Flooding

Rescuers work following the flood in Imamzadeh Davoud village to the north of Tehran on July 28.

Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rains in northwestern Tehran have killed seven people, and the Red Crescent says the death toll could go higher.

Morteza Moradipour, the deputy of Iran's Red Crescent, confirmed on July 28 that the number of dead was seven in the region at the foothills of the Alborz Mountains, according to the Fars news agency. Fourteen people were missing and nine were injured.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported that rescue operations were under way at the site.

Heavy rains that fell in the early hours of July 28 caused flash floods and then landslides, state TV reported.

Qadratullah Mohammadi, head of the Tehran Fire Department, said in an interview with ISNA news agency that shops and businesses in the area have suffered heavy losses.

Elsewhere in the country, flash floods killed five people in the southeastern province of Sistan and in Baluchistan, while one person died in the town of Rudehen east of Tehran.

Authorities had warned residents of mountainous areas about heavy rains and possible floods.

Flash floods on July 23 in Iran's drought-stricken southern Fars Province killed at least 21 people and affected about a dozen villages.

With reporting by AP