Land subsidence in 30 provinces of Iran, except Gilan, has been recorded, and the subsidence zone in Mashhad has now expanded to near the center of this city.

According to Mehr News Agency, Ali Beitollahian, head of the Earthquake Science and Risk Assessment division of the Center for Research in Roads, Housing and Urban Development, said that the subsidence zone in Mashhad had previously been in the northwest of the city and had not yet entered the city limits.

According to him, the extent of the subsidence zone in the southwest of Tehran has expanded noticeably over the past two years and has increased by 25 to 30 percent. In Isfahan as well, the extent of this zone has increased by 20 percent.

Beitollahian said that the highest groundwater extraction is carried out in the provinces of Kerman, Razavi Khorasan, Fars, Isfahan and Tehran, and that this issue has a direct link with subsidence. According to him, these five provinces are in a worse situation than other regions both in terms of the extent of the subsidence zone and the subsidence rate.

The head of the Earthquake Science division at the Center for Research in Roads, Housing and Urban Development added: “Unfortunately, apart from the climatic conditions and localized rains that are the grace of nature, we do not observe tangible action to reduce the risks of land subsidence.”