Flash flooding kills 19, injures more than 100 in southwest Iran

(CNN) — Flash flooding in Iran has killed at least 19 people and injured 119 in the city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Fars Gov. Enayatollah Rahimi said a short but intense rainfall caused sudden flash flooding that inundated a main highway between Shiraz and Esfahan, trapping many travelers leaving the city. City officials did not have enough time to warn people in the area ahead of the deadly weather conditions.

The heavy storm system over the region delivered a month’s worth of rainfall in only a few hours, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward. Coupled with the terrain in the area, this may have caused a funneling effect, which is not uncommon to see in some extreme flash flooding episodes.

“With the arrival of new precipitation into the country, more than 13 provinces of the country are involved in severe rainfall, snow and blizzard in a way that 22 communications routes of the country have been completely blocked,” semi-official Mehr News Agency said.

Emergency and rescue organizations are on full alert in Esfahan and Tehran as the heavy rain is predicted to continue to fall in much of the country, especially in southwest to central Iran. The storm will continue to impact Iran Monday night and into early Tuesday morning before the weather system begins to ease late Tuesday.

Photo: Streets are flooded in the northern Iranian village of Agh Ghaleh after some areas of Iran were hit by more than a month’s rainfall in a few hours.

CNN’s Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report

By Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN