At least 17 people have been killed in flash floods caused by heavy rains in Iran's southern province of Fars, officials say.
The floods in the provincial capital, Shiraz, also left 74 people injured, Pirhossein Kolivand, head of Iran's emergency medical services, told the official IRNA news agency on March 25.
The emergency services said that another person was killed in Sarpol-e Zahab in the western province of Kermanshah.
Kolivand said that three children were among the dead in Shiraz.
Videos posted online show streets and cars being flooded and damaged.
State-controlled TV reported that several Iranian provinces were on high alert for imminent flooding.
Iran's meteorology department warned about the heavy rains in various areas across the country, after floods in the northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan along the Caspian Sea killed five people, according to state-run Press TV.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani has ordered all provincial governors and other officials to be on full alert to deal with the floods.
Emergency services have been hampered by last wAt Least 18 Killed In Flash Floods In Iraneek's celebrations marking Norouz, the pre-Islamic Persian new year, with many employees on vacation.
Based on reporting by IRNA, Reuters, AFP, and Press TV
