Iran flooding kills 24 people in two days

TEHRAN: Two days of flooding near the Iranian capital have killed at least 24 people and another 19 are still missing, officials said on Friday.

"Because of strong rain and floods in the village of Emamzadeh Davoud to the west and the Firouzkouh, Roudehen and Damavand regions east of Tehran, 24 people are dead," a Red Crescent statement said.

"A search and rescue operation for 19 missing persons is ongoing," it added.

The flash flooding near Tehran, in the foothills of the Alborz mountains, comes less than a week after floods in the normally dry south of Iran left 22 people dead.

Largely arid Iran has suffered from repeated drought over the past decade, but also from regular flooding after torrential rainfall.

In Firouzkouh east of the capital 10 people lost their lives, 12 were injured and 16 are missing, Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansouri told state television. He said the area "suffered the most damage because of a mountain landslide".