Afghanistan Times
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Kabul: Unseasonal rain and flooding has plagued Afghanistan over the past week. The UN has reported at least 39 deaths and 14 injuries. The central Afghan province of Ghazni is the hardest-hit region. Afghanistan’s eastern region has experienced three flash floods in less than a month.
“Since 5 July, flash floods have reportedly killed 39 people across five provinces – Uruzgan (20), Ghazni (6), Nuristan (7), Paktya (3) and Zabul (3). Nine of those killed were children, including six in Ghazni and three in Paktya provinces,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a flood update.
The heavy rains have damaged or destroyed around 2,900 houses, a tenfold increase since the last reporting period, and also disrupted livelihoods. Critical civilian infrastructure such as roads and bridges have also been impacted.
With the rains, land has slipped resulting in unexploded ordnance being transported into several villages of Paktya. This risk will increase as heavy rains continue.
In the eastern region, heavy rain caused new flash flooding in four districts and affected close to 500 families. This is the third time that the eastern region has experienced flash flooding in less than a month.
Three new provinces in the Southern Region – Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul – have been affected by heavy rains and damaged agricultural lands and livestock.
Multiple localized assessments and relief operations are ongoing. OCHA said that it continues to coordinate the emergency response on behalf of humanitarian partners in all four regions affected – central, eastern, southern, and south-eastern regions.
