Some 4,500 families are in urgent need of assistance after recent flash floods hit their villages in the western Badghis province, killing some 56 people, local authorities said on Monday.
“Thousands of families have lost their houses, cattle, and farmlands during the flooding in Balamurghab and Ghormach districts. It’s feared that a humanitarian disaster will soon occur in the area if urgent assistance is not provided to the affected families,” Habibullah Murghabi, the head of a government-appointed emergency disaster committee in Badghis province, told IRIN, from the provincial capital Qala-e-Now.
“They urgently need tents, blankets, food and medicine, as the weather is very cold and more rains are feared in the area,” Murghabi asserted.
The floods affected 3,500 families in Balamurghab, and 1,000 other families in Ghormach district.
Murghabi said bad weather and the closure of roads linking Balamurghab and Ghormach districts to Qala-e-Now have hampered aid delivery to thousands of affected families.
"Due to the bad weather even the choppers can't fly to the area to deliver aid to the affected families," he said.
The floods, which occurred on Thursday, killed at least 56 people: eight in Ghormach district and 48 in the Balamurghab district of Badghis province, while some 100 people are still missing, local officials said.
Local authorities said that the floods have washed away thousands of hectares of farmland, damaged some 3,000 mud-built houses and killed some 4,000 cattle.
Health ministry officials have warned that an outbreak of infectious diseases in the area is probable after local villagers - who have lost clean water sources due to flooding - started dinking contaminated flood water in the region.
“The weather is too cold and there is a serious threat of respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia among the children of displaced people,” Dr Mira Jan, head of the health department of Badghis province, told IRIN.
sm/sc/jl
“Thousands of families have lost their houses, cattle, and farmlands during the flooding in Balamurghab and Ghormach districts. It’s feared that a humanitarian disaster will soon occur in the area if urgent assistance is not provided to the affected families,” Habibullah Murghabi, the head of a government-appointed emergency disaster committee in Badghis province, told IRIN, from the provincial capital Qala-e-Now.
“They urgently need tents, blankets, food and medicine, as the weather is very cold and more rains are feared in the area,” Murghabi asserted.
The floods affected 3,500 families in Balamurghab, and 1,000 other families in Ghormach district.
Murghabi said bad weather and the closure of roads linking Balamurghab and Ghormach districts to Qala-e-Now have hampered aid delivery to thousands of affected families.
"Due to the bad weather even the choppers can't fly to the area to deliver aid to the affected families," he said.
The floods, which occurred on Thursday, killed at least 56 people: eight in Ghormach district and 48 in the Balamurghab district of Badghis province, while some 100 people are still missing, local officials said.
Local authorities said that the floods have washed away thousands of hectares of farmland, damaged some 3,000 mud-built houses and killed some 4,000 cattle.
Health ministry officials have warned that an outbreak of infectious diseases in the area is probable after local villagers - who have lost clean water sources due to flooding - started dinking contaminated flood water in the region.
“The weather is too cold and there is a serious threat of respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia among the children of displaced people,” Dr Mira Jan, head of the health department of Badghis province, told IRIN.
sm/sc/jl
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
Share this article
