More than 300 people have been killed in severe flooding in Afghanistan in the northeastern province of Baghlan alone, according to the UN. The civil protection agency there said the dead were mainly women and children.
The high number of deaths can be explained, among other things, by the fact that people live close to the water, according to a UN representative. The Defense Ministry said it has sent rescue workers to the affected areas. The military was therefore ordered to provide “all types of assistance with all available resources” to the victims of this accident.
The Luftwaffe began evacuations
Images from online services showed wide streams of muddy water flooding the streets. Rescue teams, with the help of the army and police, searched through the mud and rubble for possible additional victims. As the weather improved Saturday, evacuations began, the Air Force said. Hundreds of injured people have been taken to hospitals, the report said.
Large parts of the arable land are unusable
About 100 people have been killed in previous floods in ten Afghan provinces since mid-April. The rains have temporarily rendered large parts of the country’s agricultural land unusable. 80 percent of Afghanistan’s four million inhabitants depend on agriculture.
According to official information, Friday’s rain also caused serious damage in other provinces. In addition to Baghlan, Tachar and Badachshan in the east, as well as Ghor and Herat in the west, are also affected.
Afghanistan is suffering greatly from climate change
The country is particularly hard hit by climate change. The dry winter makes the soil less able to absorb precipitation. The floods are “a stark reminder” of how exposed Afghanistan is to climate change, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Richard Bennett wrote on the online service X (formerly Twitter).
Source: Krone
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