Hundreds dead and missing in Afghanistan flash floods
seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left over 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday, the United Nations food agency estimated.
Among at least 240 people dead are 51 children, according to UNICEF, one of several global aid groups that are sending relief teams, medicines, blankets and other supplies. The World Health Organization said it delivered 7 tons of medicines and emergency kits.
Aid group Save the Children said about 600,000 people, half of them children, live in the five districts in Baghlan that have been severely impacted by the floods. The group said it sent a «clinic on wheels» with mobile health and child protection teams to support children and their families.
«Lives and livelihoods have been washed away,» said Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children. «The flash floods tore through villages, sweeping away homes and killing livestock. Children have lost everything. Families who are still reeling from the economic impacts of three years of drought urgently need assistance.»
He said that Afghanistan was a country least prepared to cope with climate change patterns, such as the heavier seasonal rains, and needs help from the international community. At least 70 people died in April from heavy rains and flash floods in the country, which also destroyed About 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools. Afghanistan's former
