Major dam dries out in Iran

TEHERAN: A major dam in Irans eastern Khorasan province has dried up as a result of the countrys worst drought in more than 30 years, the Khorasan Daily reported yesterday. The Shaheed Parsa dam, the largest dam in the province, which normally contains 11 million cubic metres dried up because of a lack of rainfall during the past year, the paper said, adding that all its fish have died. UN officials have appealed for emergency international aid for Iran to avert a humanitarian disaster arising from the drought. Wildlife refuges have been destroyed, lakes and rivers have dried up, and countless hectares (acres) of pasture and farmland have been reduced to dust. An estimated 800,000 head of livestock have already died and more than half of Irans population of 62 million is facing a shortage of drinking water

http://www.bahraintribune.com/middle.asp?Art_No=5482

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 11, 2000