CHR News Desk | Kabul
Flash floods in Afghanistan have killed at least 180 people, compounding the woes of a country already grappling with multiple crises.
The floods, which struck Ghor and Faryab provinces, in northwest Afghanistan, have killed over 130 people and hundreds are still missing while the muddy water wreaked havoc on farmlands and destroyed around 5000 homes, officials said.
Many villages have been cut off and have no access to food and shelter.
“Access is also a major challenge with many villages cut off and humanitarians are struggling to reach affected regions,” officials told CHR.
As search and rescue operations continue, the number of casualties is expected to rise, highlighting the urgent need for more international support and intervention to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, they said.
On 10-11 May, the northeast was struck by heavy rains and flash floods, affecting Badakhshan, Baghlan and Takhar provinces. At least 180 people are confirmed to have been killed and a further 280 injured so far.
Locals reported that this disaster marks the worst flooding in the region in three decades.
“The flood caught us off guard,” said Nabiullah, a resident of Baghlan district. “It was tragic to see our children and women being drowned. There was chaos everywhere, and those who fled into the mountains survived. Everything in my home, including grains, was destroyed by the flood. My house was flattened, and a small water stream now flows through that land.”
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the devastating floods are likely to intensify in the coming months, exacerbating the already critical food insecurity in the affected districts. The WFP said erratic weather, driven by the worsening climate crisis, is becoming the norm.
“This month’s unusually high rainfall followed a dry winter, rendering the ground too hard to absorb water, leading to massive flooding,” said Hsiao-Wei Lee, WFP Country Director for Afghanistan. “Unseasonably warm temperatures further complicated the situation by melting mountain snow, causing rivers to overflow and inundating villages with mud. These families need emergency assistance to survive, and in the longer term, they need investments in community infrastructure that help protect their homes, lands, and livelihoods.”
Hameedullah, a 45-year-old shopkeeper, survived with his wife and daughters by climbing a tree to escape the surging waters. “The flood washed away everything,” he said. “All I have now is the old clothes I am wearing.”
The flooding is the latest crisis to strike Afghanistan, which has been under Taliban rule for nearly a year following the fall of Kabul. The nation is experiencing severe economic hardship, with more than half of its 40 million people living in poverty. Nearly one million jobs have been lost this year as businesses struggle, and women and girls remain excluded from secondary education and much of the workforce.
Floods last week caused severe destruction in Ghor and Faryab provinces in northwest Afghanistan. Over 130 people are reported to have died, hundreds more are missing, and thousands of houses and businesses have been destroyed or damaged. Access is a major challenge with many villages cut off, and humanitarians are struggling to reach affected regions. As search and rescue operations continue, the number of casualties is expected to rise, highlighting the urgent need for more international support and intervention to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
In response to the floods, WFP provided fortified biscuits and nutritional supplements to children and worked with local bakeries to distribute bread to the hardest-hit communities. By the end of last week, the agency began distributing food rations and cash assistance in functional market areas. For its ongoing response, WFP requires an additional $14.5 million to cover emergency food and nutrition assistance and resilience-building projects. To mitigate future disasters, it is investing in climate adaptation projects, including the construction of protective walls, dams, and irrigation canals. Notably, a WFP-supported flood wall in Baghlan protected 670 families and 400 acres of agricultural land during the heavy rains.
Meanwhile, on the political front, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, visited Afghanistan from May 18 to 21, where she met Taliban officials, members of the diplomatic community in Kabul, and representatives of civil society. Discussions focused on the upcoming meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan, which the UN is organizing in Doha, Qatar, on June 30 and July 1. The meeting aims to increase international engagement with Afghanistan in a more coherent, coordinated, and structured manner.
“She extended to the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, an advance invitation from the Secretary-General to participate at the forthcoming meeting of Special Envoys,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at a regular press briefing in New York. Taliban leaders did not attend the last round of the meeting, held in February.
ENDS
