Floods in Afghanistan Leave 38 Dead and 57 Injured

On Monday, Disaster Management Minister Spokesman Malavi Shafiullah Rahimi confirmed that at least 38 people died from the floods that have affected Afghanistan for the past four days.

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The largest number of victims occurred in the provinces of Maidan Wardak, Kabul, Khost, Paktya, Nooristan, Ghazni and Nangarhar, he said, adding that 57 people have been reported injured and two citizens missing.

During the current rainy season, the authorities have also recorded 900 houses totally or partially destroyed, over 456 head of cattle lost, and 2,800 hectares of farmland were submerged in floods.

The Taliban held an emergency meeting with international and national NGOs to increase the capacity to respond to the floods. For two years, however, Afghanistan has been going through a lack of resources due to the freezing of international funds.

Standing in front of his destroyed mud-house after a flood struck his village in east Afghanistan on early Sunday, Nooruding was mourning his deceased family members. "We have 21 martyrs, two others from our neighbors. In total, we have 23 martyrs, 21 from my family," he said.

Located in the mountainous Jalrez district of eastern Wardak province, the flood-affected Takana village experienced a destructive flash flood at midnight, which changed the topography of the area as hundreds of houses, gardens and farmlands were destroyed or turned into mud.

"It was 1:30 a.m. when lightning and thunder shocked the area. We came out and some went to the roof of the house and some others were inside the yard. We asked them to climb up to the roof, but they ignored us and instead went towards the house gate," the dejected man recalled.

"Suddenly, the flood found its way to our house and caused catastrophe. Five to six children and women were in the yard of the house. From 2:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., we were busy discovering the martyred persons from the flood mud and we used an excavator to find two bodies," he said.