Iranian capital Tehran has seen its heaviest rains in decades without any damage reported to public or private properties.
Energy ministry authorities said on Wednesday that torrential rains that barreled into Tehran a day earlier was the heaviest recorded in 32 years.
Mohammad Reza Khaniki, an official at Tehran water management company, said that the city and its adjacent neighborhoods recorded 25.9 millimeters of rain in just 18 minutes.
Khaniki said the rain was heavier in several neighborhoods of the city where the gauge topped 44 millimeters for the short period of the downpour.
Tehran’s overall rainfall since the start of the calendar year in late March has exceeded 250 millimeters, according to the government data. That is below the average recorded for the entire Iran which has been 300 mm, although figures show one of the wettest seasons on record for the Iranian capital.
There was no report of damage or casualties from Tuesday’s heavy rainfall. Energy Ministry authorities said new dams and water management systems built in the capital have enough capacity to handle extreme precipitation events.
Heavy rains seen in Iran for the past two years have relieved many drought-hit regions while it has caused devastating floods in some parts of the country.
Better precipitation has boosted crops and helped exports of agrifood from Iran while encouraging more private and government investment in an agriculture sector which keeps expanding.
Data released on Wednesday showed that Iran had recorded 303.5 mm of rainfall between March 20 and May 19, down from 324.6 mm recorded over the same period last year but up 41 percent compared to the initial spring months of the past 11 years.