Ali Beitollahi, the head of the Earthquake Department at the Center for Roads, Housing, and Urban Development Research, announced that “multiple ground subsidence incidents in Tehran” have resulted in four fatalities. Among them, two people died in the ground collapse at “Meydan-e Qiyam” and two others lost their lives in a similar incident in the Shahran area.
According to the state-run newspaper Etemad on Sunday, November 3, Beitollahi reported that “a firefighter and a worker” were buried under a pile of soil in the ground subsidence incident at Tehran’s Meydan-e Qiyam, while two others died in a similar accident in Shahran.
According to UNESCO’s definition, “ground subsidence” refers to the “collapse or settlement of the ground’s surface,” which occurs on a large scale for various reasons.
The official noted that despite the heightened risk of ground subsidence in recent years, “no budget has been allocated for assessing this risk or for preventive and control measures.”
He attributed the primary causes of ground subsidence in the capital to the “numerous abandoned qanats (underground aqueducts) beneath Tehran” and “erosion caused by high-pressure leakage from drinking water pipes.” He stated that according to existing maps, “approximately 600 kilometers of abandoned qanats have been identified,” and that “an equivalent length of unidentified qanats also exists in Tehran, posing a latent threat.”
He further pointed out that “the recent subsidence at Vanak Square, the collapse on the north side of Enqelab Square, and the subsidence on Molavi Street opposite Akbarabadi Hospital were caused by high-pressure water leakage from drinking water pipes.” He explained: “This leakage causes subsurface erosion and creates cavities underground, which can collapse under traffic and environmental vibrations, potentially forming hazardous sinkholes in the ground and on roads.”
Beitollahi warned that “human casualties would be very high if a subsidence occurred during peak traffic hours in District One.”
Previously, Beitollahi had warned of the intensifying phenomenon of ground subsidence, stating that all provinces in Iran are facing this danger and that “we have only five to ten years left to save our cities and villages.”
Beitollahi highlighted Tehran Province’s top ranking in subsidence rates, stating, “The subsidence mass in Tehran Province stretches over 60 kilometers in length and 35 kilometers in width, with close to 3 million people residing in this subsidence zone.”
In June, Masoumeh Amigh-Pei, head of the Precise Leveling and Radar Interferometry Department at Iran’s Mapping Organization, stated that a comprehensive ground subsidence database had been developed, revealing that the extent of ground subsidence has reached 16 of Iran’s major cities, with 800 cities falling within the subsidence zone.
According to several critical experts, misguided policies, lack of adequate planning, and mismanagement of water resources by the Iranian regime are major contributors to ground subsidence and the environmental crisis in Iran.
