TEHRAN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Recent floods in northern Iran along the Caspian Sea have caused losses of 392 million U.S. dollars to agricultural sectors, Tehran Times daily reported Sunday.
The agricultural sector in the northern province of Golestan suffered a loss of 260 million dollars because of the devastating flood, said Mohammad Mousavi, an official with Iran's Agriculture Ministry.
Some 250,000 hectares of the agricultural lands sustained massive losses in the province, Mousavi added.
Rapeseed and wheat farmlands suffered total devastation in Golestan's cities of Bandar Turkman, Gomishan, Aqqala, Gonbad-e Kavus, Minoo Dasht, Galikesh, and Maraveh Tappeh, he said.
In the province of Mazandaran, the farming lands suffered a loss of 132 million dollars, he noted.
At least 70 villages in Golestan and more than 200 in Mazandaran are inundated, Mojtaba Jamali, director general of Golestan province's crisis management department, told the state IRINN TV on Saturday.
The flood also caused power cuts and serious problems in drinking water supply in the rural areas of Golestan.
According to IRINN, more than half of the city of Aqqala is engulfed in the flood.
Most of the residential areas and farm communities have been evacuated, while state institutions, army and popular relief groups are mobilizing assistance to the affected people.
The landslide in Aqqala has killed two people, Jamali was quoted as saying by IRINN.
