Heavy snowfall leaves 500,000 without power, water in northern Iran

Some 480,000 residents of northern Iran are without power or water after the region received the heaviest snowfall in 50 years, officials say. About 3,000 have been moved into emergency shelters, and 11,000 have been rescued after becoming stuck in the white stuff, al-Jazeera reported Tuesday. Mazandaran province, on the Caspian Sea, has received more than six feet of snow since Friday, making it one of the hardest hit areas in the country. Some 76 inches of snow have fallen in the city of Ramsar alone in the past five days. The Revolutionary Guard has delivered aid and helped evacuate those trapped in Mazandaran and the neighboring Gilan province. Snow flurries are expected to continue for the next few days.