Afghanistan's Situation Getting Worse Due to Torrential Rain & Flash Floods

The Afghanistan Meteorological Department (AMD) has issued a warning for thunderstorms and flash floods in 24 of Afghanistan's provinces, despite the country's ongoing heavy rains. According to the AMD, flash floods, heavy rain, and wind gusts are expected to affect Afghanistan's central, northeastern, eastern, and southeastern regions.

In Afghanistan, recent torrential rains have already destroyed many homes and uprooted numerous families. According to sources, the provinces mentioned in the AMD's warning include Logar, Ghazni, Nooristan, Kunar, Badakhshan, Kapisa, Uruzgan, Takhar, Baghlan, Bamyan, Helmand, Samangan, Laghman, Kabul, Nangarhar, Maidan Wardak, Ghor, Daikundi, Panjshir, Zabul, Paktika, Parwan, Paktia etc.

According to the AMD warning, rainfall amounts could range from 15 to 60 millimetres and wind gusts could reach 60 kilometres per hour. Six people lost their lives on Tuesday as a result of flooding in various areas of the Maruf district of Kandahar province as a result of the torrential rain. In addition, three people have died as a result of the devastating floods in the Ghazni districts of Jaghori, Qarabagh, and Andar.

In the village of Angoori in the Jaghori district, the floods caused several acres of agricultural fields to become wetlands and were completely destroyed. Over the past few days, a large number of villages and townships in the three provinces located in the country's eastern and central regions have been impacted by the heavy rains and flash floods.

Locals claim that hundreds of residential buildings, thousands of acres of agricultural land, and dozens of gardens have all been destroyed by the floods. Over 40 people, including women and children, were killed and numerous others were hurt when floods swept through a village in Afghanistan's eastern Nuristan province about two weeks ago.

In Afghanistan's Panjshir and Takhar provinces, heavy rain and flash floods also significantly damaged property. Around 2,900 houses were damaged or destroyed by the heavy rains, a tenfold increase from the previous reporting period, and they also disrupted daily life.

Roads and bridges, two important pieces of civil infrastructure, have also been impacted. There are numerous ongoing localized assessments and relief efforts. According to reports, monsoon rains and flooding in Afghanistan have claimed the lives of about 400 people over the course of the past month.