Although the drainage of wetlands, lakes, underground water sources, fertility of soil, and the moisture and suitability of dry and waterless lands for agriculture and revitalization of vegetation are considered as great blessings of floods for dry and water-scarce countries like Iran, on the other hand, our country has always been faced with a high volume of damage and destruction to public, residential, and commercial facilities, production and industrial units, traditional and industrial livestock, vehicles, roads, bridges, and highways, as well as explosions, fires, and power outages due to the lack of proper infrastructure and management plans for floods and flash floods. Flash floods have always been considered a natural disaster for humans, as the loss of life and property damage caused by floods has been the most important consequence for humanity. Therefore, efforts have been made to control floods and reduce their destructive effects by reviving forests, watershed management, construction of flood control structures, dams, and reservoirs.

According to the report of the Forests, Rangelands and Watershed Organization, 8449 floods have been recorded in the country’s provinces during the past seventy years, half of which have occurred in the last twenty years. This means that Iran also hosts an average of 120 floods per year, or one every three days. The statistics also show that 43% of all floods in the last twenty years in Iran have occurred in the provinces of Fars, Golestan, Khorasan Razavi, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan. According to experts from the Meteorological Organization, since the powerful monsoon system began in Sistan and Baluchestan province on July 24, 2022, this system has gradually moved towards the north and center of the country, causing an increase in heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Kerman, Bushehr, Isfahan, Kohgiluy

Iran is among the top twenty countries in the world in terms of flood damage, and on average, twenty-four provinces of the country are affected by floods and inundation. The recent flood damage in the agricultural sector has been estimated at six trillion tomans, and the damage to the tribes is more than five billion rials. For example, six hundred billion rials of damage has been inflicted on the agricultural sector of Qamsar Kashan and nine hundred billion tomans to Isfahan. Last year, according to the report of the Organization of Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management, despite the prevailing drought conditions in the country, out of a total of one hundred and ninety-one effective rainfall events in the watershed areas, one hundred and thirteen resulted in small and large floods, causing damage in twenty-two provinces of the country during the year 1399.

The most important health and environmental consequences of flooding.

The consequences of direct and indirect entry and distribution of industrial and agricultural wastes and household waste and their associated pollution during floods with flood currents in nature and urban and rural areas are one of the most important challenges during floods and the remaining high volume of debris and construction waste, contaminated soil with toxic substances and hydrocarbons, animal carcasses, wood and stone pieces, etc. are mainly observed in downstream and areas where the speed of flood currents decreases. The most important damages caused by waste during and after floods are as follows:

• Waste, especially waste that has been buried in corners or landfills or improperly disposed of in waste disposal sites, in addition to polluting the environment, doubles the destructive and deadly effects of floods by being carried along with the flow and transporting small and large pieces of plastics, wood, stone, metals, and plastic and metal containers.

• Unmanaged waste and garbage that cause the deviation of floods from their natural paths and spread towards roads, villages, and cities located in the basin by creating obstacles for the flow of floodwaters, especially in small bridges built in villages and small towns.

• Waste materials that have multiple small and large centers in villages, cities, and roads; especially those that are illegally dumped and abandoned in rivers, and contain asbestos, heavy metals, lime, oils, and petroleum products, have dangerous and exacerbating effects on flood currents.

• Infectious waste and contaminated water accompanying floodwaters can lead to the spread and transmission of various diseases, including skin infections, injuries and infections of the eyes, ears, throat and nose, gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea and vomiting, and stomach ulcers.

• Livestock waste and the resulting pollution from it, which are stored in traditional and industrial farms, contaminate water and soil resources and cause the spread of various diseases for humans and animals during and after floods.

• Warehouses and storage facilities for regular and hazardous wastes, including hydrocarbons and oil wastes, various medicines, poisons, and non-consumable pesticides, as well as empty or partially filled containers that have been stored for recycling or final disposal in these locations, are potential sources of hazardous and chemical pollutants in water, soil, and the environment.

• Chemical warehouses and goods containing hazardous chemicals, if destroyed and exposed to flood waters, will ultimately lead to contamination of water and soil and the production of hazardous waste. In some cases, bags, packaging, and floating barrels will also be left behind.

• Places and waste management centers that have engineering and health considerations taken into account can also be affected by the severity and flow of floodwaters from dangerous pollution sources during and after floods. It is important to mention that each of these cases can hinder rescue operations due to the risks of spreading pollutants and toxic substances, physical hazards, and obstacles for emergency vehicles, causing complex problems and difficulties for relief efforts.

• Debris, carcasses, and body parts of domestic animals, livestock, and wildlife that become trapped in floods and eventually end up semi-buried in mud, will become a source of foul odor and the spread of infection after a short period of time following the flood.

• Furthermore, the accumulation of a large amount of building debris and waste, animal carcasses, hazardous and contaminated waste, along with mud and tree and plant debris, both in the path of the flood and downstream, are among the most important challenges after a flood. Unfortunately, they are mostly collected with loaders and then taken to depots outside residential areas, which will become hotspots for future floods. Proper separation and collection of these materials will be one of the most important health and environmental measures after a flood, which mainly requires equipment and human resources and is also considered costly.

The previous cases assume that waste management factories, incineration sites, and recycling units for all types of waste (with emphasis on special and hazardous wastes) are fully constructed based on technical and engineering standards and have sufficient care and supervision. Otherwise, each of them, whether in terms of placement (such as being located in flood-prone areas or not observing the legal distance from rivers and water sources) or in terms of compliance with structural and construction standards, safety and hygiene, can potentially spread hydrocarbons and cause pollution of water, soil, and even air, leading to the spread of health and environmental consequences of floods. In addition, they can create difficulties in rescue operations and prevention of future flood damages.

According to investigations, more than 900 small, medium, and large industrial units have been registered for recycling various types of waste and special waste management sites in all provinces of the country, some of which are closed for various reasons. In addition, there are a large number of official and unofficial dumping sites for non-sanitary urban and rural waste in cities and villages, especially in northern provinces, which are not in a suitable condition in terms of health and environmental hygiene and also produce high levels of toxic wastewater in addition to household waste. On average, about 69.7% of waste is buried in the major cities of the country, and about 1,400 cubic meters of wastewater with a very high level of pollution with COD of 30,000 to 60,000 milligrams per liter is produced daily. (Environmental Protection Organization, 1396-1395) In addition, old dumping sites for household waste in forests and riversides are also added, which have only been covered

The environmental and health consequences arising from improper waste management during floods are more concentrated on the methods and ways of storing, transporting, and burying waste (both ordinary and special). These problems are more serious in developing countries such as Iran, where unfortunately there has not been much success in proper waste management, despite the high potential for serious floods and flash floods.

For this reason, proper performance with infrastructure optimization and standardization of waste management methods, especially in final disposal sites, plays a crucial role in controlling environmental pollution caused by waste disposal during floods. It is necessary for authorities and implementers to pay attention to this issue in order to prevent the extent and severity of damages and injuries caused by floods during and after their occurrence by determining the reliability index of infrastructures and improving safety and health indicators during the design and implementation process.

At the end of identifying hazardous sites related to landfills, construction waste, waste management sites, and recycling facilities in watershed areas and improving their safety status, along with modeling, education, and awareness-raising for prevention, control, and rapid response during floods, it is recommended. It is obvious that organizing sites and landfills or storage sites for various types of waste, securing industrial, service, and production units with chemical storage or recycling waste, and the method of collecting and transporting urban and rural waste in the form of executive management of various types of waste, which is the responsibility of government agencies and owners of industrial units, play a significant role in eliminating or reducing environmental and health consequences of waste during and after floods and is one of the most important measures that should be considered by officials at the national level. For this reason, it is suggested that the Crisis Management Organization of the country, in collaboration with all relevant agencies at the national and provincial levels, form emergency waste management teams to identify the

Notes:

The information and statistics provided about the flood have been taken from news published by Tasnim and Imna news agencies.

Zahra Jabari has been a prominent figure and former head of the Water and Soil Department of the Environmental Protection Organization.