Flash floods in Afghanistan kill at least 200 people as humanitarian emergency looms

CNN
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Flash floods that have hit northern Afghanistan in recent days have killed at least 200 people, the UN agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) told CNN on Saturday.

The northern provinces of Badakhshan, Ghor, Baghlan and Herat all experienced severe flooding, which also damaged nearly 2,000 houses, an IOM communications official said in a statement, citing Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority.

The IOM, which is providing emergency relief on site, expects the death toll to rise.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which is preparing its emergency response to flooding in seven provinces, estimated the death toll was higher. More than 250 people have died while “thousands” of people have been stranded without access to services, the IRC said in a statement on Saturday.

“These recent floods have caused a major humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, which is still suffering from a series of earthquakes earlier this year and severe flooding in March,” said Salma Ben Aissa, IRC Afghanistan Director.

“Communities have lost entire families while livelihoods have been decimated as a result,” she said.

On Saturday, a video shot by Reuters news agency showed mourners burying the dead in Baghlan province. A man named Gulbudeen described losing several family members to the floods.

“I lost five members of my family to these devastating flash floods, two sons, two daughters and their mother. We stood on the other side of the flood but could not help them and eventually the flood took the lives of our loved ones,” he said.

Residents of Laqayi village, also in Baghlan province, tried to clean mud flows outside their homes on Saturday, a video filmed by AFP news agency showed. Villagers could be seen wading through the deep mud puddles, which appeared to have caused significant damage to homes.

The ruling Taliban acknowledged the “severe damage” caused by the flooding in a statement published on X on Saturday by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

“Regrettably, hundreds of our fellow citizens have fallen victim to these catastrophic floods, while a significant number have suffered injuries. “In addition, the deluge caused extensive damage to residential properties, resulting in significant financial losses,” Mujahid said.

The Taliban has ordered its Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Disaster Management and local officials to “use all available resources” to rescue the stranded, recover bodies and provide medical care to the injured, Mujahid added.

The flash floods add to a series of recent natural disasters the region has endured.

Unseasonal rains and floods killed more than 100 people in Afghanistan and Pakistan in April, authorities said. More than 600 animals also died.

Flash floods also swept away dozens of people in Afghanistan in July, less than three months before thousands were killed by a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the western part of the country.