Flash floods kill more than 300 people in northern Afghanistan: NPR

People were seen near their damaged homes after severe flooding in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Mehrab Ibrahimi/AP

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People were seen near their damaged homes after severe flooding in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Mehrab Ibrahimi/AP

ISLAMABAD – Flash floods caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed over 1,000 homes, the U.N. food agency said Saturday.

The World Food Program said it was distributing fortified cookies to survivors of one of the many floods that hit Afghanistan in recent weeks, particularly in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of flooding on Friday.

In neighboring Takhar province, state media reported that at least 20 people were killed in the floods.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, posted on social media platform

Mujahid identified Badakhshan, Baghlan, Ghor and Herat provinces as the most affected. He added that “the extensive devastation” had resulted in “significant financial losses.”

He said the government had ordered to mobilize all available resources to rescue people, transport the injured and recover the dead.

A man walks near his damaged home after severe flooding in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Mehrab Ibrahimi/AP

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A man walks near his damaged home after severe flooding in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Mehrab Ibrahimi/AP

The Taliban Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the country’s air force had already started evacuating people in Baghlan, rescuing a large number of people stuck in flooded areas and transferring 100 injured people to military hospitals in the region transported.

Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said on

Videos posted on social media showed dozens of people gathering behind the hospital in Baghlan on Saturday to search for their loved ones. An official tells them to start digging graves while their staff is busy preparing the bodies for the burial ceremony.

Officials previously said at least 70 people died in heavy rains and flash floods in the country in April. Around 2,000 houses, three mosques and four schools were also damaged.