SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: In western Iran, flooding caused by weeks of heavy rains has left at least two people dead. The provinces of Lorestan and Khuzestan face high waters this time of year, partly because of the Karkheh River. But authorities are hoping a new dam will make floods and even droughts less of a problem. Iran's IRIB has more on the country's biggest water projects.</s>MAHMOUD AHMADI, IRIB REPORTER (voice-over): Can this be the wildest river of Iran? Karkheh</s>VAFA TABESH, PROJECT MANAGER (through translator): Anyone who came here to visit the site could not digest how this open area was supposed to turn in a dam.</s>AHMADI: The far-fetched idea became 100 percent reality when Iranian President Mohammed Khatami took a tour of the project in mid- April. His more power for</s>ABESH (through translator): We tried our best not to feel disappointed midway because that could be the main impediment.</s>AHMADI: The happiest are the farmers who no longer see Karkheh as a seasonal nightmare. The river can now safely irrigate more than 300,000 hectares of farm land. Floods and droughts are now only stories of past. Mahmoud Ahmadi reporting for CNN WORLD REPORT.
New Dam Hopes to Reduce Seasonal Flooding in Iran