An Iranian regime official warned that the rate of land subsidence in Razavi Khorasan Province, eastern Iran, is 20 centimeters per year, and the subsidence has now reached “northwest of Mashhad.”
According to the state-run news agency ILNA, Ali Beitollahi, the secretary of the National Task Force on Earthquakes and Ground Displacement, stated that based on “studies” on the subsidence situation in Razavi Khorasan Province, “the subsidence areas in this province are five times larger than the subsidence areas in Isfahan.”
He said that currently, this province “holds the national record for the extent of subsidence areas” and warned that if human-induced subsidence continues at this rate, “the entire area of Mashhad will also be affected.”
Previously, Masoumeh Amighpey, the head of the Precise Leveling and Radar Interferometry Department of the National Cartographic Center of Iran, mentioned the creation of a comprehensive database on land subsidence and stated that the range of land subsidence has infiltrated 16 metropolitan areas in Iran, with 800 cities also located in subsidence zones.
According to Iranian media, during a webinar, she identified the worst risk of land subsidence as the threat to food security and explained that land subsidence causes soil loss and rapidly destroys agricultural lands, such as the Varamin plain, where some areas are no longer suitable for farming.
Salinization of groundwater, creation of sinkholes, and surface fissures are among the consequences of land subsidence, leading to devastating environmental damage.
According to this government official, the provinces of Semnan, Qazvin, Tehran, Alborz, Razavi Khorasan, and Kerman are in a critical situation regarding land subsidence.
Meanwhile, the director of the Earthquake and Risk Management Department at the Road, Housing, and Urban Development Research Center of Iran announced that of the 63 globally registered sites, 27 are at risk of land subsidence. Additionally, 16 centers and 18 active oil storage facilities are located in subsidence areas.
According to several critical experts, misguided policies, lack of proper planning, and mismanagement by the Iranian regime in the water sector are significant factors contributing to land subsidence and the environmental crisis in Iran.
