Flood Risk Looms over Razavi Khorasan; Warning Against Unauthorized Construction
Mashhad – As forecasts of El Niño and the onset of early rains in Razavi Khorasan emerge, officials have issued serious warnings about the irreparable dangers of unauthorized construction in watercourses and waterways.
Ambassador of Arjan - Group of Provinces, Atefeh Wafaian: According to the climate forecasts regarding the occurrence of the "El Nino" phenomenon and temperature and precipitation changes in this fall and winter, Razavi Khorasan is preparing its infrastructure to face these weather conditions at various levels of agriculture, urban management and relief. Meteorological estimates that indicate a temperature change of about two degrees in autumn and the early onset of rains from the end of October show that this phenomenon, if properly managed, can become an opportunity to strengthen water resources and improve productivity beyond a climate threat.
In the field of agriculture, which is directly related to the sustainability of food security, changing the approach in seasonal planning has become an inevitable necessity. Correcting the planting date, choosing varieties resistant to cold and drought, and quickly preparing the land to take advantage of early rains, along with the use of "all-risk" insurance coverage and physical protection of infrastructure such as warehouses, livestock farms, greenhouses, and aqueducts, are among the requirements that have been put on the agenda to reduce the risk of unexpected climatic events.
In the metropolis of Mashhad, the view of urban management is focused on the two axes of securing the green space and exploiting the runoff caused by heavy rains. Along with the implementation of basic and timely tree pruning programs to minimize possible damages caused by heavy rains, watershed studies and storage plans of more than 1,200,000 cubic meters of runoff water are followed in different parts of the city; However, the final exploitation of this water capacity requires treatment before storage, management of the entry of pollutants and wastewater, as well as obtaining legal permits.
In the field of rescue and relief, the experiences of the past years in Mashhad have made preparation against possible rains and floods a priority in training and operational programs.
Improving the specialized knowledge of rescuers before issuing weather warnings, as well as general education to citizens to stay away from roads and waterways during heavy rains, forms an important part of the chain of prevention and facilitating the relief process in the coming critical days.
However, the connecting link of all these arrangements in the agricultural, urban and relief sectors is the formation of a stable inter-institutional synergy and general cooperation. Preventing construction in the main flood routes and creating operational coherence between the responsible organizations before the accident is the only solution that can prevent the repetition of past unfortunate experiences and, while reducing the burden of heavy relief operations, provide the ground for safe passage of upcoming weather phenomena.
Necessity of pollution treatment and management for the use of urban wastewater in Mashhad
Mehdi Yaqoubi, the deputy of environment and urban services of Mashhad municipality, while explaining the measures taken to secure trees against weather conditions, stated: every year broad-leaf trees on the green area are pruned in two rounds: summer pruning and winter pruning. Summer pruning is mainly done for stubborn, disturbing branches, as well as heavy branches that are likely to break, and in winter pruning, when the trees complete fall and go to hibernation, the pruning process is done in order to remove extra branches and shape them properly for better tree growth.
The Deputy of Environment and Urban Services of Mashhad Municipality added: Regarding the El Nino phenomenon and tree pruning, the necessary planning has been done for the trees that need to be pruned, and in the key and main axes of the city, this is done by the Parks and Green Space Organization, and in other places by the green space maintenance contractors of 13 regions.
He pointed out: Considering that the El Nino phenomenon is mostly accompanied by heavy rain, it does not cause much damage to the trees, and usually heavy snowfall will break the branches of the trees, which will be minimized by proper and timely pruning of the trees.
Carrying out watershed studies to guide runoff
In response to a question about the preparation of the bed of gardens and green belts to guide runoff, Yaqoubi said: Carrying out special operations to create crescent-shaped basins and banquettes of trees and planting suitable plant species in the heights of the green belt will help prevent soil erosion and prevent floods and runoff, and regarding the direction of runoff and its use, watershed studies are being conducted by the Parks and Green Space Organization.
The deputy of environment and urban services of Mashhad municipality added: Also, in the local parks of the city, in the form of civil parks plan, the direction and collection of runoff water is considered.
Estimated storage of one million and 200 thousand cubic meters of runoff water
Regarding the opportunism of the El Nino phenomenon and the control of runoff, he said: Feasibility studies of the use of surface runoff began in 2018, and in the output of the results, 5 suitable points for the control and storage of surface runoff have been proposed, including Bahar Park in Region 3, Kohshar Park in Region 8, Karamet Park in Region 6, and Chelbaze Park in Region 11 (in two places).
Yaqoubi continued: In 1404, the contract for the studies of phase 2 of the implementation of the runoff collection and storage structure in Bostan Bahar in Region 3 was concluded and it is being implemented, and in the first phase, the storage forecast of 300,000 cubic meters has been made. However, the entry of pollution and sewage into the running water and the regional water permit are among the challenges of implementing this plan.
The Deputy of Environment and Municipal Services of Mashhad Municipality stated: According to the studies conducted in the 5 proposed points, there is a storage capacity of at least 1,200,000 cubic meters of runoff, and in the first phase, 300,000 cubic meters of storage has been predicted in Bostan Bahar.
Treatment of runoff before storage
In response to a question about the measures necessary to prevent surface pollutants from entering the underground water table, he said: depending on the tests of the samples taken from the runoff, before storage, the runoff will be purified. Also, it is tried to harvest from the points that have the least pollution.
Khorasan Razavi Red Crescent training courses were held to deal with weather phenomena
Maryam Yousefi, Vice President of Education and Research of Khorasan Razavi Red Crescent Society, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, referring to the Red Crescent Society's educational arrangements regarding the upcoming weather phenomena and rainfall, stated: There is no independent training with the title of El Nino, but due to past experiences in Mashhad and the discussion of this fall's rains, webinar sessions were held on the public education site of the country's Red Crescent Society, and it was followed by professors who Experts in this field were invited to hold these meetings.
Vice President of Education and Research of Khorasan Red Crescent Society, Razavi added: The main focus of these discussions is to prepare our own forces, colleagues, aid workers and students of training courses, so that we know what duties we are responsible for and what conditions we should be prepared for after the occurrence of rains and other incidents.
He stated: the risks are not limited to floods; Drought, forest fire and subsidence are also discussed, although in Razavi Khorasan, Mashhad subsidence is not the first priority of immediate crises compared to other parts of the country, but according to the experiences we had in Mashhad in recent years, our priority is to prepare against rains and floods.
Regarding the details and structure of the trainings, Yousefi stated: The steps and duties of the rescue service from the moment the incident is announced to the operation are defined in advance, and our colleagues are good at their duties; Our focus in these webinars is on the time period before the accident and before the warnings are issued, so that it can be determined, based on the expert forecasts of professors and academics, what intensity and amount of rainfall we will face in the fall and winter and what level of the accident we should be prepared for.
The Vice President of Education and Research of the Khorasan Red Crescent Society Razavi also pointed to public education for citizens and said: In the Red Crescent public education, the first lesson that everyone learns upon arrival is the topic of preparation against natural hazards, including floods, and how to stay away from the path of floods.
Addressing the general public and institutions, he emphasized: First of all, it should be monitored with the cooperation of organs, organizations and people so that no construction is done on the main flood routes and channels so that no problems arise when the rains occur. Also, at the time of the accident, if a warning of heavy rain is issued through the media or social networks, people should refrain from going towards the path of floods and waterways and cooperate with the rescue forces by changing the route or using alternative routes in order to facilitate the relief process and minimize accidents.
Emphasizing the need for inter-organizational synergy, Yousefi reminded: After the events of the past years in Mashhad, meetings and coordinations were held between the collections and the city administration and actions were taken, but the coherence and stable cooperation that was expected to be formed for the next events has not been fully realized. The Red Crescent plays a role in the field of relief and will not be able to solve all the problems by itself; Therefore, it is necessary for all organizations to act in harmony with each other so that unfortunate experiences are not repeated and the need for heavy relief operations is reduced.
The necessity of changing the agricultural approach against the El Nino climate phenomenon
Habibullah Moqtadar, Director of Agricultural Jihad of Qochan city, referring to the forecasts of the meteorological field, said: Analysts believe that although Khorasan-Razavi is less affected by the El Nino phenomenon than the southern and western provinces, the temperature change of about two degrees in the autumn season and the early onset of rains from the end of October will drastically change the requirements of agricultural infrastructure management.
The Director of Agricultural Jihad of Qochan city stated that the correct management of these conditions can turn a "climate threat" into a "production opportunity", and emphasized the need to change the approach in seasonal planning and added: correcting the planting date, choosing cultivars resistant to cold and drought, and quickly preparing the land for the use of early rains are the main elements of success in the grain growing season (wet and rainy).
Emphasizing the importance of insurance and risk management, he asked the operators to take urgent action to prepare an "all-risk" insurance policy for products, as the main tool for dealing with unexpected climatic events.
Moqtadar considered the third step in risk management to be the protection of the infrastructure and stated: the operators should be prepared to prevent possible damages caused by water infiltration in warehouses, poultry farms, animal husbandry, greenhouses, as well as the protection of wells and water transfer aqueducts and implement preventive and protective measures in them in particular.
Director of Jihad Agriculture of Qochan city noted: All these points are communicated to the users through training courses, specialized meetings, promotion programs, virtual space, media and technical visits of experts, and it is necessary for all of them to take steps in the direction of sustainable food security, with full preparation to deal with possible accidents caused by this climatic phenomenon.