MNA – Iran’s Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati says the recent heavy rainfalls and flash floods sweeping across much of the provinces are estimated to have so far caused about 130 trillion rials ($3.01 billion) to the country’s agricultural sector.

Addressing the Parliament’s open session on Sunday, Hojjati noted that the southern Khuzestan province has been hit the worst with 30 trillion rials ($714 million) of damage inflicted on its agricultural infrastructure so far.

The figures could go up in the coming days, he added.

Most damages were inflicted to the crop farms, gardens, chicken farms and other sectors in the industry including animal husbandry, beekeeping sectors.

Exceptional rainfalls since March 19 have flooded some 1,900 cities and villages across Iran, claiming over 70 lives and causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to Iranian water and agriculture infrastructures. Floods have affected several provinces in the north and west of the country including, Golestan, Mazandaran, Lorestan, and Khuzestan.

Currency rate has been calculated according to the official rate announced by the Central Bank of Iran ($1 US = 42,000 Rials).