Taliban authorities sent helicopters to try to assist civilians overnight after receiving reports that over 100 people were stranded.
Over 300 people have died as torrential rain battered north and northwestern Afghanistan, causing devastating floods, the UN Food Program said on Saturday.
“Flash floods ravage #Afghanistan, killing more than 300 people in Baghlan and destroying more than 1000 houses,” UN Food Program said on X.
“This has been one of many floods over the last few weeks, due to unusually heavy rainfall,” it added.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that many people had been left homeless and transportation, water and waste systems were “severely disrupted”.
“The impact has been profound, leading to loss of life and injuries, with many individuals still unaccounted for,” the WHO’s Afghanistan office said in a statement late on Friday.
It added that four health centres had been damaged and one destroyed by the floods and said the agency was sending health teams to provide treatment in the inundated areas.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the floods in four provinces destroyed up to 3000 homes and caused damage to roads and other infrastructure..
“Rescue teams have already reached all the affected areas. They have taken the injured to hospitals by helicopters as roads were closed due to heavy flooding,” he added.
Taliban authorities sent helicopters to try to assist civilians overnight after receiving reports that over 100 people were stranded.
The Taliban administration dispatched rescue and relief teams from Kabul and other provinces.
“We requested all the Afghan people to come forward and help the victims of the flood, which caused severe damages and destroyed entire villages in some areas,” Mujahid said. Last month, at least 70 people were killed and dozens of others injured in heavy rain and floods in different areas of Afghanistan.
