In a sweeping valley of Khulm district near Mazar-e-Sharif, spring flooding was an annual problem for local communities until a joint WFP and FAO watershed management project made the area safe and turned the rainwater into an asset.

Thanks to organized contingency planning and preparedness measures, the humanitarian impact was well-mitigated, with a faster and more efficient response to the emergency.

The Foreign Ministry is supporting a project of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences that aims to help train firefighters and rescue workers in Afghanistan and develop their leadership skills.

This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2012

Overview

The construction of 16-km célèbre secured 10 thousand of families from the threats of flash floods in Khwaja Do Ko district of Jawzjan province. This project has been implemented through Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority worth of AFN 10 million.

The project would not only solve the problems of the people in term of flood threats but would be a good source of irrigation water too.

Construction of four culverts was also included in this project which connects the residents of Khwaja Doko district with Andkhoi-Shabarghan highway.

7 April 2013 | Zabul, Afghanistan

For years, the villages of Sinak and Hazari in southern Afghanistan suffered the consequences of broken flood barriers and blocked canals.

The municipal drainage infrastructure they shared was badly damaged. Village elders recall that “the canals were full of sediment and many culverts had collapsed.” The villages were constantly flooded. Pools of standing water bred mosquitoes.

Resulting damages have accumulated to over US$25 billion in the past five years alone. To promote engagement in disaster and climate risk management practices, a new report analyses the elements that are driving increases in disaster risk and provides disaster risk management profiles for the countries in the region.

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 67/16 and Security Council resolution 2041 (2012), in which the Council requested me to report on developments in Afghanistan every three months.

In 2011, severe drought in Bamyan and Wardak provinces caused massive losses for vulnerable families subsisting off the land. Families lost as much as half their harvests and one quarter of their livestock.

Since that time, families have been struggling to recover from such substantial losses. Their household debts have risen sharply, borrowing money to pay for food and provisions, and forcing family members to leave for work in other cities or countries.