TEHRAN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 100 people have been hospitalized in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan since Thursday due to health conditions caused by fierce sandstorms, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.
In this period, 1,563 patients, most of whom had respiratory, heart and eye problems, sought medical attention across the province, and 94 of them have been hospitalized, Tasnim quoted Mohammad Khalili, secretary of the disaster management department of Zabol University of Medical Sciences, as saying.
The patients also include individuals who were hurt in traffic accidents that occurred as a result of poor visibility.
Khalili warned that the severe sandstorms had become a threat to people's health in the worst-hit counties of Zabol, Zehak, Hamoun, Hirmand, and Nimrouz.
According to Tasnim, all public institutions in the five counties were closed from Sunday to Monday and resumed operations with a two-hour delay on Tuesday.
Mohsen Heidari, the director general of the province's meteorological organization, said on Tuesday that sandstorms are expected to continue on Wednesday.
The province typically experiences strong summer winds from late May to late September every year. ■
