Iran on Friday raised the death toll on land and flash floods this week across the country to at least 53, including those who were killed in a landslide in the capital of Tehran the previous day, reported state television.

More than 30 people died in two villages, northwest and northeast of Tehran, after the monsoon poured heavy rains that triggered mudslides there, according to the report. Nearly two dozen people died in eight other provinces and 21 of Iran’s 31 provinces were affected by the heavy rains.

The death toll was feared to rise even further as at least 16 people are still missing and more bodies were discovered after the rains ended. The report said military personnel joined the rescue efforts and helped transfer thousands of people from remote areas to safer places.

Last Saturday, flash floods in Iran’s drought-stricken southern province of Fars killed at least 22 people and affected a dozen villages in the province.

This week’s storm is the deadliest among rain-related incidents in Iran in the past decade. In 2019, a flash flood killed at least 21 people in the southern city of Shiraz, and two years earlier a similar storm claimed 48 lives in northwestern Iran.

However, landslides in northern Iran in 2001 and Tehran in 1987 killed 500 and 300 people respectively.

Ahead of Thursday’s mudslide, authorities had warned residents of mountainous areas of Tehran of heavy rains and possible flooding. More heavy rains were expected in the coming days.

Authorities have blamed the high death toll on disregard for safety measures by people venturing into the storms, while critics cite poor management of construction projects as well as late warnings as other causes.

(This story has not been edited by the Devdiscourse team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)