At least 17 dead as heavy rains trigger flash floods in Afghanistan

Dead see 5 members of a household successful the Kabkan territory successful the state of Herat.

Heavy rains and snowfall successful Afghanistan person ended a prolonged adust spell but triggered flash floods successful respective areas, sidesplitting astatine slightest 17 radical and injuring 11 others, according to authorities.

The dormant included 5 members of a household successful a spot wherever the extortion collapsed connected Thursday successful Kabkan, a territory successful the Herat province, Mohammad Yousaf Saeedi, spokesperson for the Herat governor, said. Two of the victims were children.

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Most of the casualties person occurred since Monday successful districts deed by flooding, and the terrible upwind besides disrupted regular beingness crossed central, northern, southern, and occidental regions, according to Mohammad Yousaf Hammad, a spokesperson for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

Hammad said the floods damaged infrastructure, killed livestock, and affected 1,800 families, worsening conditions successful already susceptible municipality and agrarian communities.

He added the bureau has sent appraisal teams to the worst-affected areas, with surveys ongoing to find further needs.

A video clip posted connected X showed a motortruck overturning owed to flash flooding connected Afghanistan’s Herat-Kandahar road adjacent Dasht-e Bakwa.

Another video showed respective radical desperately trying to flight aft their autobus overturned successful a beardown flood current.

Afghanistan, similar neighbouring Pakistan and India, is highly vulnerable to utmost upwind events, peculiarly flash floods pursuing seasonal rains.

Decades of conflict, mediocre infrastructure, deforestation and the intensifying effects of clime alteration person amplified the interaction of specified disasters, particularly successful distant areas wherever galore homes are made of mud and connection constricted protection.

In August, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake deed Afghanistan adjacent its borderline with Pakistan, sidesplitting much than 1,400 people.

Efforts to rescue radical affected by the earthquake were hindered due to the fact that of flash floods successful the Nangarhar state of Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The United Nations and different assistance agencies this week warned that Afghanistan is expected to stay 1 of the world’s largest humanitarian crises successful 2026.

The UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $1.7bn entreaty connected Tuesday to assistance astir 18 cardinal radical successful urgent request successful the country.