In a devastating series of events, more than 200 people lost their lives in flash floods that swept through various Afghan provinces.
According to AFP, the United Nations confirmed the tragic toll on Saturday, with authorities declaring a state of emergency and rushing to aid the injured.
The heavy rains on Friday unleashed torrents of water and mud, wreaking havoc on villages and agricultural lands across several provinces.
Northern Baghlan was among the hardest hit areas, where over 200 people perished, and thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
In Baghlani Jadid district alone, up to 1,500 homes were either damaged or destroyed, leading to the loss of over 100 lives, as reported by Mohammad Fahim Safie, the National Programme Officer overseeing IOM’s emergency response, citing government statistics.
The toll continued to rise, with at least 62 individuals, primarily women and children, succumbing to the flash floods in Baghlan province on May 10, according to a local official.
These tragic events underscore the urgent need for support and assistance in the affected regions.
“Hundreds of our fellow citizens have succumbed to these calamitous floods,” government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement posted to X on Saturday.
He did not provide specific numbers for the dead and injured but informed AFP that dozens had lost their lives.
Also, heavy rains on Friday wreaked havoc in northeastern Badakhshan province, central Ghor province, and western Herat, causing significant damage, officials reported.
Emergency responders were mobilized to rescue and assist the injured and stranded individuals, according to the defense ministry.
The situation remains critical as efforts continue to mitigate the impact of the devastating floods in these regions.
“In addition to human casualties, these floods have also caused huge financial losses to the people,” said Ahmad Seyar Sajid, head of the natural disasters management department in northern Takhar province, where he estimated 20 people have died in the flooding.
Responding to the crisis, the defense ministry directed various branches to extend all possible assistance to the victims using available resources.
The air force initiated evacuation operations as the weather improved on Saturday. Over a hundred injured individuals were airlifted to hospitals, although the provinces from which they were evacuated were not specified.
The concerted efforts of emergency personnel and military forces highlight the urgent and coordinated response to the unfolding disaster.
“By announcing the state of emergency in (affected) areas, the Ministry of National Defense has started distributing food, medicine and first aid to the impacted people,” it said.
Video footage seen on social media from Friday showed huge torrents of muddy water swamping roads and bodies shrouded in white and black cloth.
In one video clip, children are heard crying and a group of men are looking at floodwaters, in which bits of broken wood and debris from homes can be seen.
Since mid-April, flash flooding and other floods had left about 100 people dead in 10 of Afghanistan’s provinces, with no region entirely spared, according to authorities.
Farmland has been swamped in a country where 80 percent of the more than 40 million people depend on agriculture to survive.
Afghanistan — which had a relatively dry winter, making it more difficult for the soil to absorb rainfall — is highly vulnerable to climate change.
The nation, ravaged by four decades of war, is one of the poorest in the world and, according to scientists, one of the worst prepared to face the consequences of global warming.
