Afghanistan news: Devastating floods kill 315, aid agencies warn of widening havoc

livemint.com:

authorities declaring a state of emergency. Described the devastating floods as a “major humanitarian emergency", aid agencies have warned of widening havoc, news agency Reuters reported. Afghan authorities have reported several people missing after heavy rains on Friday that sent roaring rivers of water and mud crashing through villages and across agricultural land in several provinces, causing damage to healthcare facilities and vital infrastructure besides thousands of homes and livestock wiped out.

Northern Baghlan province was one of the hardest hit, with over 300 people killed there alone and thousands of houses destroyed or damaged. A UN officer estimated that in Baghlan province alone, there were 311 fatalities, 2,011 houses destroyed and 2,800 houses damaged "We have no food, no drinking water, no shelter, no blankets, nothing at all, floods have destroyed everything," Reuters quoted Muhammad Yahqoob, who has lost 13 members of his family, as saying. The survivors were struggling to cope, he said, adding that "Out of 42 houses, only two or three remain, it has destroyed the entire valley." Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the interior ministry, told AFP that 131 people had been killed in Baghlan, and the toll could rise.

“Many people are still missing," he said. Another 20 people were reported dead in northern Takhar province and two in neighbouring Badakhshan, he added. Din Mohammad Hanif, Taliban's economy minister, urged the United Nations, humanitarian agencies and private business to provide support for those hit by the floods.