KABUL: Fresh floods killed at least 66 people in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan, a provincial official said Sunday, in the latest deadly flooding to hit the country, AFP reported.
Hundreds of people have died in separate flash floods this month that have also swamped farmland in Afghanistan where 80 percent of the population depends on agriculture to survive.
The catastrophe, occurring on Saturday night, marks the latest in a series of flooding disasters to afflict the country, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.
Asmatullah Muradi, spokesperson for the Faryab governor, confirmed the devastating toll of the floods. Alongside the loss of life, the floods wreaked havoc on residential areas, damaging over 1,500 houses and submerging more than 1,000 acres of vital agricultural land. The livelihoods of many were further devastated as hundreds of livestock perished in the deluge.
The death toll from the Ghor flooding has risen to 55, with over 3,000 homes completely destroyed by the relentless torrents.
Videos shared by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) on social media platforms show the horrifying scenes of torrents of water engulfing homes and streets, leaving residents in Baghlan, Ghor, Faryab, and other affected regions homeless and destitute.
The catastrophic floods have compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with the WFP warning of the worsening situation. The country, already grappling with the aftermath of a prolonged drought, finds itself ill-prepared to cope with the impacts of climate change, with devastating floods becoming increasingly frequent.
Even prior to the recent spate of floods, Afghanistan had witnessed significant loss of life due to flooding in multiple provinces.
“We have not walked on dry land in four days.”
Gulzada is one of the thousands of people who have lost everything in the recent floods in #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/VZXOy02RCR
— World Food Programme (@WFP) May 18, 2024
