In our prayers: Iran's massive floods

AlJ has a report on the recent flooding in Iran.

which hasn't gotten a lot of headlines in the west.

the BBC report on flooding started on March 25; an April 2 report discusses evacuation from a "third flood".

The environmentalists blame "global warming", as does the Iranian government, which of course can blame the US for climate change so their neglect of the environment can be ignored. And of course "US Sanctions" are being blamed for problems in getting relief supplies.

the problem seems to be the sanctions stopping the banking system from allowing them to get aid money or to buy medicine... but of course I suspect that if the sanctions are lifted, a lot of this "aid" will go to Iranian war terrorists in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, not to mention being diverted into their nuclear program. 

StrategyPage has a long essay about the problem here.

But the NYTimes admits that foreign journalists aren't allowed in to assess the damage, maybe because they might notice folks mad at the bungled gov't response.

It should be noted that Saudi and the UAE have sent aid to help flood victims, as are other countries.

In the midst of the spat, Iran has received aid from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Kuwait, as well as from Germany, France and Japan. The move by Saudi Arabia and the UAE came despite the long-standing rivalry with Shia-majority Iran, which is based as much on geostrategic interests as religious differences.

 Facing off across the Gulf, the major oil producers have taken opposing sides for decades in conflicts across the Middle East.

Iran, like Syria, is in the midst of a dry spell (blamed on "global warming" of course: which is why President Obama blame global warming for the civil war in Syria).

Long analysis at Futuredirections website.

The Islamic Republic’s approach to water management has been less than successful, dismissing proposed sustainable water management policies, in favour of building infrastructure, including wells and dams. This approach has led to the over-exploitation of aquifers and has prevented water from reaching lakes and rivers.

Flood management policies are significantly lacking and there is little to mitigate the impact of rural land use, which contribute significantly to flooding. Over 2,000 hectares of forest has been cut down in a 25-year period in northern Iran, which has increased surface runoff and, in turn, increased its susceptibility to flooding.

Although building dams had mitigated flooding to some degree, the extent of the rainfall Iran has received has meant that the dams are no longer able to prevent floods. Currently, many dams are more than 95 per cent full, risking more downstream flooding.