Iran floods claim over 100 victims

Thousands have been made homeless by the floods

Army helicopters are continuing to search north-eastern Iran for missing people after over 100 were confirmed dead in flash floods.

President Mohammad Khatami has urged officials to do what they can to alleviate the effects of what he described as a huge disaster.

I saw an ocean of water rumbling towards my house, breaking trees and destroying power lines and bridges

Kalaleh resident

And Iranian television broadcast a message by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling on the government and people to provide aid.

The deputy governor of the province of Golestan said about 1,500 homes had been destroyed in what he described as the worst flooding the region has known for 200 years.

Gas pipelines, electricity and phone lines have been cut and over 80km of roads have been destroyed over the past two days, as well as thousands of hectares of farmland.

Golestan province was the worst affected, although there were also reports of some fatalities in neighbouring Khorasan and West Azerbaijan.

Knee-deep in mud

Rescue workers pulled bodies from the mud and stranded residents were evacuated to hilltop shelters.

With waters receding, some areas were still knee-deep in mud.

A resident of Kalaleh, one of the worst affected towns, described the flood's onslaught.

"When I walked out of the house, I saw an ocean of water rumbling towards my house, breaking trees and destroying power lines and bridges," Nematollah Dolqizadeh told the Associated Press.

And in Gonbad-e Kavus, tearful relatives watched as rescue workers deposited bodies in a food freezer turned into makeshift morgue.

In Golestan National Park, a rescue pilot spotted at least three tourist buses buried in the mud, one of them upside down.

At least 32 people were killed and dozens more injured in floods in Khorasan province in May, after the worst drought in 30 years.