‘HUNDREDS OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS’ HAVE DIED IN FLOODS IN AFGHANISTAN, TALIBAN SAYS

Sun 12 May 2024:

The interim Taliban administration said Saturday that hundreds of lives have been lost, and many more have been injured as a result of torrential floods in Afghanistan.

“Regrettably, hundreds of our fellow citizens have succumbed to these calamitous floods, while a substantial number have sustained injuries,” said administration spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, without specifying numbers.

The toll was announced on Sunday, a day after the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said over 300 people were killed and many others remained missing, with authorities scrambling to rescue the injured.

WFP said the worst-hit province was Baghlan, where more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed.

The UN agency said it was distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors of one of the many floods that hit the country over the past few weeks.

Heavy rains on Friday led to flooding in several areas of the country.

🔴Breaking: Flash floods ravage #Afghanistan, killing more than 300 people in Baghlan and destroying more than 1000 houses.

This has been one of many floods over the last few weeks, due to unusually heavy rainfall. WFP is now distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors. pic.twitter.com/X4AaBW5TIC

— WFP in Afghanistan (@WFP_Afghanistan) May 11, 2024

In the wake of recent catastrophic floods that have ravaged several provinces, including Badakhshan, Baghlan, Ghor and Herat, Afghanistan extended its deepest condolences to affected families and pledged support in recovery efforts, he wrote on X.

“The deluge has wrought extensive devastation upon residential properties, resulting in significant financial losses,” he said.

Mujahid urged residents to contribute to the aid initiatives to assist those in need during this challenging time.

Hedayatullah Hamdard, the head of Baghlan’s natural disaster management department, earlier told AFP that the toll “will probably increase”, adding that light rain had continued into the night in multiple districts of the province.

Flash floods caused by heavy rains devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing over 300 people and injuring more than 1,600, as villagers buried their dead and aid agencies warned of havoc https://t.co/n2SuCmqS9G pic.twitter.com/71pPP9yTZ1

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 12, 2024

Residents were unprepared for the sudden rush of water set off by the heavy downpour in recent days, he added.

Emergency personnel were “searching for any possible victims under the mud and rubble, with the help of security forces from the national army and police”, Hamdard said.

Since mid-April, floods have killed about 100 people in 10 of Afghanistan’s provinces, with no region entirely spared, according to the authorities.

Farmlands have been submerged in a country where 80 percent of the more than 40 million people depend on agriculture to survive.

Mohammad Akram Akbari, the provincial director of natural disaster management in Badakhshan, said the mountainous province had seen “heavy financial losses in several areas … due to floods”.

He said casualties were feared in Tishkan district, where floodwaters had blocked a road and cut off access to an area where about 20,000 people lived.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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