Reduced flood risk - UN

After serious flooding in southern Afghanistan in March, humanitarian workers in Kabul have told IRIN the worst is now over. “Most of the snow melt which we anticipated would cause flooding has now gone so the emergency that we thought might happen is less probable,” John Odea of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told IRIN on Thursday. After a very cold winter that killed hundreds of people unprepared for the severe weather, Afghanistan faced two serious floods last month, affecting thousands of people in the southern provinces of Ghazni, Oruzgan, Nimruz and Kandahar. The most recent flood was in Ghazni when the Band Sultan dam burst due to a huge inflow of water from melted snow, killing at least 20 people, destroying hundreds of houses and displacing thousands. The Afghan government, the United Nations and US-led coalition forces responded to the emergency by providing, food, shelter medical aid and evacuation by helicopter. “The water has now decreased significantly and the situation [in Ghazni] is under control,” Ariane Qauentier a senior public information officer at UNAMA, told IRIN. According to UNAMA, a number of working groups have been established to set up a coordination mechanism, identify high-risk areas and organise the pre-positioning of supplies in regions prone to flooding. “Right now it is rather good news. We have not had any major floods since the flooding in Ghazni,” she noted, adding that a joint operation centre made up of members of the government and international organisations was in place. However, there is concern that the Ghazni dam disaster could be replicated, given how old and poorly maintained many dams in Afghanistan are. “The possible risk of widespread flooding is still there, from another dam breach, for example,” Odea added.