Landslide in Northern Iran

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A slow landslip which started in recent weeks in a highland region called 2000 in the vicinity of Tonekabon in northern Iran has deteriorated since Saturday, a local official said.

Behzad Pour-Mohammad, superintendent of the Unexpected Disasters Headquarters in Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran, said that the landslide has inflicted heavy damages on the water, power and communication installations and utilities as well as a large number of residential units in the stricken area.

He said that the incident started initially with a slow landslip in the area, which has now accelerated and turned into a landslide, damaging 20 villages.

The official also said that five residential buildings have been destroyed entirely and 17 more have received damages ranging from 30 to 100 percent.

The damages have been estimated at 5 billion Iranian Tomans (USD5000,000), he added.