New floods have been reported from Afghanistan since the beginning of May – more than 420 people have now died. This can be seen from the respective figures from the responsible authorities in the affected provinces in the north and center of the country.
According to official figures, 47 people died in northern Afghanistan, in Fariab province, on Sunday alone. Hundreds of houses, dozens of shops and around 200 hectares of agricultural land were damaged or destroyed.
On Saturday, at least 50 deaths were reported in the central province of Ghor as a result of heavy rain. Here too, the local government spoke of high levels of property damage, including thousands of houses destroyed. At the beginning of the month, 14 deaths were reported in the province. About a week ago, the Refugee Ministry complained of 315 deaths following floods in northern Afghanistan. The provinces of Baghlan, Herat and Badakshan, among others, were severely affected.
The floods are worsening the already difficult humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. After decades of war and conflict, the country is ill-prepared for extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. According to experts, such events are becoming more likely with climate change. There were also floods in Afghanistan in March and April.
Since the Islamist Taliban came to power in August 2021, international cooperation with the South Asian country has been severely restricted.