More than 300 people have died due to heavy rains and floods in different provinces of Afghanistan. The World Food Organization (WFP) reported this information on Saturday. In such a situation, the Taliban government has declared a state of emergency in the country.
Baghlan, Takhar, and Badakashan, as well as the western Ghar and Herat provinces, received heavy rains in the poverty-stricken agricultural country on Friday. This has caused floods in rivers and streams. Villages, roads, and farmlands in various provinces have become muddy.
A local AFP journalist who witnessed it said that local people were seen being rescued from flood-damaged buildings, roads full of rubble and mud on Saturday. Along with the government, various non-governmental organizations have deployed rescue workers in the affected areas. Relief given. Flooding has threatened to disrupt communication in some areas, prompting the issuance of warnings.
One of the worst affected areas is the northern province of Baghlan, the WFP said. More than three hundred people lost their lives in this province alone. The destruction or damage caused thousands of houses to collapse.
Rana Deraj, the communication officer of the United Nations organization working in Afghanistan, said, “So far, 311 people have died in Baghlan province. The destruction of two thousand eleven houses and the damage of two thousand eight hundred also occurred.
However, the information from the Taliban government and various humanitarian organizations regarding the amount of loss of life and damage is different. According to the United Nations Organization for Migration (IOM), 218 people died in Baghlan province alone.
On the other hand, Abdul Mateen, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan, said that 131 people lost their lives in Baghlan province. However, this number may increase. Many are missing now. He also said that 20 people died in Takhar province and two in neighboring Badakashan.
“This flood has washed away my house and my whole life,” declared Jan Mohammad Din Mohammad, a resident of Pol-i-Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province. When the flood waters started to rise, his family moved to higher ground. But they returned home as soon as the sky cleared. Come and look; there is nothing. The destruction of houses resulted in the loss of everything within them. Jan Mohammad said, “I don’t know where I will go with them, what I will do.”
In addition to declaring a state of emergency, the country’s defence ministry is providing food, medicine, and first aid to people in flood-affected areas. In the middle of last month, around 100 people lost their lives in floods in 10 provinces of the country.