Mudslides and other disasters underline lack of preparedness

Following deadly flooding in southern and northeastern provinces of Afghanistan last week that left more than 100 dead or missing, the UN reported on Sunday that more people were feared killed after serious mudslides in the Shibar district of the central Bamian Province. "The situation is considered serious with up to 19 people missing," Manoel de Almieda e Silva, a UN Assistant Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) spokesman, told IRIN in the Afghan capital, Kabul. According to the spokesman, an evaluation team composed of UNAMA, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and government officials had gone to the area on Saturday to assess damage in the Ghandak valley of Bamian Province. "Nine bodies have been recovered while another 19 are missing so far," Silva said, adding that the mudslides had also destroyed 20 houses in the valley. "UNHCR have distributed blankets and tents to the vulnerable families," he said, noting that freak rains had led to the mudslides, and that in places the mud was said to be five metres deep. The UN also reported that as a result of recent floods which occurred in Kameh district in the eastern province of Nangarhar, summer crops had been destroyed and around 90 affected families were in dire need of food and shelter. "Two separate assessments showed last week that in the two affected villages of Bila and Zakhil, 268 jeribs of agricultural land have been ruined by floods," Silva said, adding that a joint mission comprising the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR and UNAMA would go to the two affected villages to look into the possibility of more long-term assistance in building retaining walls to prevent future disasters. Although Afghanistan has suffered several natural disasters in recent months, the country's leading body for natural disasters, the Office of Disasters Preparedness (ODP) said it had limited preparedness for emergency response and that the organisation was neglected by the government and by the UN. "ODP has not been assisted by any international humanitarian body to be capable of meeting the emergencies," Sultan Ebadi, the director of ODP, told IRIN, stressing that disaster preparedness should have been a top priority for the government and the aid community in Afghanistan. "Nobody has taken it seriously that in a country and situation like Afghanistan, there should be a capable focal institution for disaster preparedness and emergencies response," he said. ODP warned that lack of attention to disaster preparedness could create havoc in disaster-prone Afghanistan. "I really am concerned that if the UN and international organisations continue their current approach towards disaster preparedness, ODP will never be able to restore its position as a responsible and professional authority for disaster preparedness and response," Ebadi said. He added that his office was planning a country-wide study to identify risky areas in terms of disasters and to identify where preventative programmes should be implemented.