![[Afghanistan] Flooding along the Kabul river.](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/200575.jpg.webp?itok=jionMQEq "Flooding along the Kabul river has affected local people and Afghan refugees")
At least four people have been killed and five others are missing after flash floods, triggered by torrential rains, hit the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Friday.
“Early this morning in the Behsoud district of Nangarhar province, severe flooding occurred and we can confirm that four people were killed as a result and five are currently missing, many others have been injured,” Dan McNorton, a public information officer with UNAMA, told IRIN in Kabul.
“Our initial reports indicate that over 1,000 houses have been destroyed either partially or totally,” McNorton asserted.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Nangarhar province have called for further urgent assistance to thousands of flood-affected people.
“Hundreds of families have been badly affected and are in urgent need of tents, blankets and food,”Ajmal Pardis, head of health department of Nangarhar province, told IRIN, from Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Pardis said women and children were also among the dead and their medical teams have treated some 30 injured people in the flood-affected area.
East and southeastern Afghanistan has seen several episodes of flooding this year.
Flash floods on 30 July killed 13 people in the Shirzad district of Nangrahar province and washed away more than 1,000 hectares of farmlands and destroyed dozens of houses, according to officials.
On 10 August, local authorities confirmed that floods had killed 33 and left thousands of people homeless in the southeastern provinces of Paktika, Ghazni and Paktia.
Floods killed at least seven people and forced 500 families to leave their villages and homes in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan in July.
The impoverished country, which has suffered severe environmental degradation, including deforestation and consecutive years of drought, is particularly vulnerable to floods and other natural disasters, experts say.
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“Early this morning in the Behsoud district of Nangarhar province, severe flooding occurred and we can confirm that four people were killed as a result and five are currently missing, many others have been injured,” Dan McNorton, a public information officer with UNAMA, told IRIN in Kabul.
“Our initial reports indicate that over 1,000 houses have been destroyed either partially or totally,” McNorton asserted.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Nangarhar province have called for further urgent assistance to thousands of flood-affected people.
“Hundreds of families have been badly affected and are in urgent need of tents, blankets and food,”Ajmal Pardis, head of health department of Nangarhar province, told IRIN, from Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Pardis said women and children were also among the dead and their medical teams have treated some 30 injured people in the flood-affected area.
East and southeastern Afghanistan has seen several episodes of flooding this year.
Flash floods on 30 July killed 13 people in the Shirzad district of Nangrahar province and washed away more than 1,000 hectares of farmlands and destroyed dozens of houses, according to officials.
On 10 August, local authorities confirmed that floods had killed 33 and left thousands of people homeless in the southeastern provinces of Paktika, Ghazni and Paktia.
Floods killed at least seven people and forced 500 families to leave their villages and homes in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan in July.
The impoverished country, which has suffered severe environmental degradation, including deforestation and consecutive years of drought, is particularly vulnerable to floods and other natural disasters, experts say.
sm/sc/ds
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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