Floods kill 9 people in Khowst

At least nine people were dead and another 26 missing after heavy rains caused flash floods in Afghanistan’s southeastern province of Khowst, the governor told IRIN on Wednesday.

"First it was drought and now the rains have ruined us," Governor of Khowst, Hakim Taniwal said. Most of the dead and missing had gone to collect valuable logs caught in torrents of water when they themselves were washed away. Much livestock was lost and agricultural land damaged, he added.

"We even don’t have the resources to correctly assess the losses let alone help the people," Taniwal maintained. His authority remains bitterly contested by the insurgent regional warlord Badshah Khan Zadran. The power struggle between the two and US-led coalition force’s mopping up operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban makes the province one of the most insecure in the country.

Taniwal has appealed to the UN to send a delegation to the region to assess damage and devise strategies for relief to the affected communities. "Although the tribal communities are trying to recover, we have no capacity and there are hardly any aid agencies working here," he said.

The flash floods in southeastern Afghanistan demonstrate the high degree of vulnerability to natural disaster in the war-torn country. Drought and floods can coexist, even in the same province. While most of the country is firmly in the grip of one of the worst droughts in recorded history, heavy rains bring flash floods because of massive deforestation.