At least 50 dead in flooding in northern Afghanistan

At least 50 people have died in flooding following heavy rain in Afghanistan’s northern province of Baghlan on Friday, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said, adding that the death toll may rise.

Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee told Reuters that there had been flooding in more than five districts of Baghlan after heavy rains and that some families were stuck and in need of urgent help.

He added that two heavy storms had been predicted for Friday night.

“The Ministry of Interior has sent teams and helicopters to the area, but due to a shortage of night vision lights in helicopters, the operation may not be successful,” he said.

Last month, around 70 people were killed by heavy rains lashing Afghanistan, according to the government’s disaster management department.

Afghanistan was parched by an unusually dry winter that had desiccated the earth, exacerbating flash-flooding caused by spring downpours in most provinces.

Disaster management spokesman Janan Sayeq had said “approximately 70 people lost their lives” due to the rains.

Fifty-six others were injured, he had said, while more than 2,600 houses were damaged or destroyed and 95,000 acres of farmland wiped away.

The United Nations last year warned that “Afghanistan is experiencing major swings in extreme weather conditions”.

After four decades of war, the country ranks among the nations least prepared to face extreme weather events, which scientists say are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.

At least 25 people were killed in a landslide after massive snowfall in eastern Afghanistan in February, while around 60 were killed in a three-week spate of precipitation ending in March.