Floods in Iran's northern and northeastern regions have killed 52 people by the latest count, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, on Sunday.
The agency said that President Mohammed Khatami had met with families of the victims and paid condolences.
"The grave...floods in the Golestan province and part of the Khorasan province have led to a big disaster ... I condole with the noble people of Golestan province... and the respected people of the Khorasan province over this calamity," he said.
The Iranian president called on related officials to make their "utmost efforts" to deal with the disaster and extending relief to those affected.
The floods have mainly hit Kalaleh in the Gorgan region in the northeast part of Tehran.
Local officials have called for essential supplies to be sent in with tents and medicines for those affected, said the agency.
On Saturday, the Iranian Parliament allocated an urgent aid package to those affected by the floods, and relief operations started on Sunday with seven helicopters.
Rescuers have so far discovered 52 bodies, but the exact toll has yet to be modified, said the agency.
The floods have cut electricity, gas and water supplies, as well as the roads linking the affected regions with the rest of the province.
The governor of the Dasht-e Jajarm village near Bojnourd in Khorasan province, Mehdi Akhlaqi-Pour, said Sunday that the floods had killed one person and left thirty people missing in that village.
Some 1,000 head of livestock have perished and orchards have been destroyed, he said, adding that some 500 hectares of farmlands had also been washed away – Albawaba.com
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