Flash floods kill over 300 in Afghanistan

Islamabad: Flash floods from unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed over 1,000 houses, the UN food agency said.
The World Food Programme said it was distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors of one of the many floods that hit Afghanistan over the last few weeks, mostly the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges. In neighbouring Takhar province, state-owned media outlets reported the floods killed at least 20 people.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban government, posted on the social media platform X that “hundreds ... have succumbed to these calamitous floods, while a substantial number have sustained injuries.”
Mujahid identified the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Ghor and Herat as the worst hit. He added that “the extensive devastation” has resulted in “significant financial losses.”
The Taliban defence ministry said in a statement that the country’s air force has already begun evacuating people in Baghlan and has rescued a large number of people stuck in flooded areas and transported 100 injured people to military hospitals in the region.
Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said on X that the floods are a stark reminder of Afghanistan’s vulnerability to the climate crisis and both immediate aid and long-term planning by the Taliban and international actors are needed.