Islamabad 21 August : At at least 20 people died in an incredibly flash flood struck Khoshi district in Afghanistan’s Logar province authorities said on Sunday.Based on initial reports that were released, half of the victims were children the provincial police said in an announcement.
Another 30 people were injured and four of them were missing.
In the process more than 3,000 houses are either completely or partially damaged, the news agency dpa quoted officials.
Social media footage showed the bodies of children, as well as villages that were flooded by the floods.
“The situation is very alarming.
People in need of basic assistance,” police spokesman Ahmadullah Anas told dpa.
Officials from the nation’s National Disaster Management Authority said they have used helicopters to rescue people affected by the flooding since the evening of Saturday and they have set up an emergency shelter.
Afghanistan experiences periodic flooding throughout the year, causing damage to homes, agricultural land , and public infrastructure.
At at least 32 people died in the northern province of Parwan last week , following flooding swept across several valleys.
Flash floods typically take people off guard since there’s no alarm system in the mountainous region.
The tens of years of conflict, combined with the degradation of the environment and inadequate funding in the reduction of risk from disasters, have contributed to the growing vulnerability of Afghans to natural disasters, as per the United Nations.
In the average, natural catastrophes impact the lives of 200,000 people every year in the war-ravaged country.
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