Flash floods kill hundreds and injure many others in Afghanistan, Taliban says

People clean up their damaged homes after heavy flooding in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan Saturday, May 11, 2024. Flash floods from seasonal rains in Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan killed hundreds of people on Friday, a Taliban official said.
| Photo Credit: AP

Flash floods from seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed hundreds of people and injured a “substantial number,” a Taliban official said on May 11, without giving exact figures.

The floods hit mostly the northern region of the country. The province of Baghlan bore the brunt of the deluges Friday with officials preliminary reporting at least 50 people dead and properties destroyed in multiple districts.

In neighboring Takhar province, state-owned media outlets reported the floods killing at least 20 people.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban government posted on social media platform X on Saturday, saying that “hundreds … have succumbed to these calamitous floods, while a substantial number have sustained injuries.”

Mujahid underscored the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Ghor and Herat as the worst hit. He added that “the extensive devastation” has resulted in “significant financial losses.”

He also said the government had ordered all available resources mobilized to rescue people, transport the injured and recover the bodies of the deceased.

The Taliban defense ministry said in a statement Saturday that the country’s air force has already begun evacuating people in Baghlan and has so far rescued a large number of people stuck in flooded and transported a hundred injured people to military hospitals in the region.

Officials previously said that in April, before Friday’s floods, at least 70 people died from heavy rains and flash flooding in the country. About 2,000 homes, three mosques, and four schools were also damaged.