Afghanistan: Heavy rain, flash flood death toll climbs to 300

In Afghanistan, The UN Food Program has confirmed that the death toll has been increased to 300 due to the flash floods caused by the heavy seasonal rains.In a social media post, the UN Food Program said that the torrential rain and devastating floods also battered north and northwestern Afghanistan. Over 62 people died in northern province of Baghlan alone.Earlier, the Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that heavy downpours caused floods in four provinces, destroying almost 3,000 houses, killing hundreds of livestock, while damaging roads and other infrastructure, said. Rescue teams have reached the affected areas, and the injured have been taken to hospitals by helicopters as roads were closed due to heavy flooding, he added. According to authorities, since mid-April, flash flooding and other floods left about 100 people dead in ten provinces of Afghanistan, with no region entirely spared.

Breaking: Flash floods ravage #Afghanistan, killing more than 300 people in Baghlan and destroying more than 1000 houses.

This has been one of many floods over the last few weeks, due to unusually heavy rainfall. WFP is now distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors. pic.twitter.com/X4AaBW5TIC

— WFP in Afghanistan (@WFP_Afghanistan) May 11, 2024

The air force had started evacuating people and moved more than 100 injured people to military hospitals, the Taliban Ministry of Defense said on Saturday, without mentioning from which provinces.“By announcing the state of emergency in affected areas, the Ministry of National Defense has started distributing food, medicine and first aid to the impacted people,” it said in a statement.