Schools Evacuated In Iran Due To Land Subsidence

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Education has said that several schools in the central province of Esfahan (Isfahan) have been evacuated due to land subsidence.

Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi also raised concerns about the situation in schools located in Yazd and Tehran.

Speaking to the ILNA news agency on Sunday, Khan-Mohammadi highlighted the severity of the subsidence issue in Esfahan province, stating that "we have evacuated some schools" due to the problem. He assured that these evacuated schools would be renovated to strengthen them against the threat of land slippage.

The provinces of Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Esfahan are at highest risk of land subsidence, with Esfahan metropolis under particular threat. Khan-Mohammadi confirmed this emphasizing that Esfahan faced the greatest challenge of subsidence with limited cases being reported in Tehran. Yazd also experienced subsidence, which resulted in damage to schools, although the extent of damage was reported to be less significant.

Recent assessments indicate that around 4.24 million residential units in land subsidence zones lack proper structural support.

The issue of land subsidence extends beyond major urban centers to large construction projects. Across numerous regions in Iran, ground cracks and significant depressions resembling meteor craters have emerged on the surface in recent years.

According to experts, over-extraction of groundwater has played a pivotal role in the creation of underground cavities, resulting in the occurrence of land subsidence.