Around 2,000 families have been affected by the recent floods in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said, local media reported on Monday.
The IOM said emergency relief items have been given to impacted families as humanitarian teams continued assessing urgent needs in flood-affected people, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.
The agency said many people lost homes, agricultural land and household property after flooding in Nangarhar, deteriorating humanitarian challenges faced by the vulnerable families of the province.
The IOM stated that additional humanitarian assistance is planned for at least 250 additional families in Nangarhar as recovery and emergency operations are underway in impacted regions.
According to the organisation, similar aid operations are being conducted in Laghman and Kunar, where recent flooding has caused damage to residents and infrastructure.
Humanitarian agencies said extreme weather conditions, including floods, harsh winters and droughts, have impacted Afghanistan in recent years, putting additional pressure on millions of people already struggling with poverty and displacement, Khaama Press reported.
Earlier, the United Nations stated that 73,000 people have been impacted due to recent flooding in Afghanistan, with thousands of families requiring shelter, food assistance and medical support after widespread destruction.
Last month, Afghan disaster authorities said that at least 148 people were killed and 216 others injured in Afghanistan following heavy rains, flash floods, landslides, earthquakes and lightening that struck several parts of the country..
According to the authorities, 24 people were killed and 33 injured in Nangarhar, with many deaths related to collapsing roofs, floodwaters and storm-related damage. At least 1,149 homes were destroyed while roads, farmland and local infrastructure suffered extensive damage, reports stated.
Over 7,500 families were impacted, showcasing how seasonal storms cause humanitarian emergency in rural and poorly protected areas. Key roads were damaged, disrupting connectivity between Kabul and several provinces of Afghanistan. Stranded residents were airlifted from some areas as flood waters swept through villages and urban neighbourhoods.
–IANS
