Relief efforts are underway across Zimbabwe after heavy rains triggered severe flooding, killing at least 83 people and destroying more than 1,300 homes, government and humanitarian agencies said on Thursday.
Torrential rains this month have caused flooding in all ten provinces, with Manicaland near the Mozambique border the hardest hit. Bridges and roads have been washed out, complicating access to affected communities.
In an interview with China Global Television Network, Nathan Nkomo, chief director of the Department of Civil Protection, said, "[For] the artisanal miners, they had their mining holes along the waterways and they were filled. It's like most of them were buried in those. Some [of the toll] is a result of lightning. Lighting has also got a big toll on that figure."
Authorities added that several others drowned while attempting to cross flooded rivers.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, in coordination with the Department of Civil Protection, is leading emergency response efforts. Relief teams are delivering tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits and medical supplies to displaced families.
Mathias Begede, programs director of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, said, "We have placed our response teams on high alert and are also repositioning emergency supplies such as tents, tarpaulins, blankets and hygiene kits and also first aid materials across the country."
Local community networks are being mobilized to disseminate weather forecasts and warn residents against crossing swollen rivers.
Although water levels have begun to recede in some of the hardest-hit areas, authorities remain on high alert as the meteorological services department forecasts further rainfall in the coming days. Relief teams continue to monitor dam water levels and rainfall patterns to issue early warnings and evacuation advisories.
Zimbabwe intensifies relief operations as floods kill over 80, destroy homes
Iran has the right to target the source and origin of any act of aggression, and the U.S. threat to impose new sanctions on Iran constitutes a serious violation of international law, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
Responding to what the United States has called "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, Baghaei told a press conference in the capital city of Tehran that the Iranian government is fully aware of the economic pressures and business hardships Iran now faces -- all part of the sustained pressure the United States has imposed on the Iranian people for decades.
The government has already assessed the situation and is taking every possible measure to counter the economic sanctions, the spokesman said.
He said that the United States has referred to the sanctions as an "economic war," indicating its total disregard for the free trade system among countries and for national sovereignty.
"The United States, with no justification and no basis in any international law or regulation, uses coercion and intimidation to restrict or force other countries into cutting off trade ties with other nations. This means the United States has violated the very foundation of international relations and one of the core pillars of the UN Charter — respect for national sovereignty. This should serve as a warning to all countries," said Baghaei.
Iran has said explicitly that it will resolutely defend its national sovereignty and territorial security, and will not yield to its enemies, nor will it accept the terms proposed by the United States as a means to end the war, said the spokesman.
Regarding the U.S. sanctions, Baghaei emphasized that the United States is attempting to justify its acts of "economic terrorism" under various pretexts, and Iran has already issued the necessary warnings: any party that participates in such U.S. actions or takes aggressive measures against Iran will pay the price.
On the recent presence of U.S. military aircraft in Bulgaria, Baghaei said that Iran has made its position clear to the Bulgarian government: Iran harbors no hostility toward Bulgaria, but allowing U.S. military aircraft to remain on its territory would be viewed by Iran as support for U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran.
Under international law, Iran has the right to strike at any source of aggression against it and resolutely defend its national sovereignty, he added.
Iran says US sanction threat violates international law
