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Afghanistan: Floods - Jul 2023

Disaster description

Heavy rainfall has been affecting central and eastern Afghanistan, in particular the Maidan Wardak Province, the Khost Province and the Kabul area, since 22 July, causing flash floods that have resulted in casualties and damage. As of 24 July, 31 fatalities, 41 persons still missing and 74 injured people are reported across Jalrez, Saydabad, Chaki Wardak and Maidan Shahr Districts, Maidan Wardak Province. Around 600 houses were reported damaged or destroyed across the same Province. In addition, media also reports four fatalities in the Kabul Capital City area and one more in the Khost Province, also in these cases due to flash floods. (ECHO, 24 Jul 2023)

As of 30 July 2023, according to reports from various sources including the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) and the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), flash floods have led to the loss of 61 lives, left 24 people injured and six people missing. The province of Maidan Wardak is the most impacted and accounts for 37 of the 61 human lives lost. Based on the preliminary findings of the initial rapid assessment carried out by the ARCS, approximately 126,000 people have been affected by the disaster in 18 provinces. The flash floods have also partially or completely damaged 1,360 residential houses and washed away over 13,023 hectares of agricultural land and killed at least 1,128 livestock. [...] Some of the provinces such as Badakhshan, Maidain Wardak and Nangahar have experienced such floods for the first time while others have experienced more severe floods this year than the ones in the past. The country is particularly vulnerable to variations in access to arable land and water due to drought that have been affecting the country for the last three consecutive years. New areas are experiencing floods due to dryness of land caused by drought for three consecutive years. (IFRC, 7 Aug 2023)

Between 1 and 30 July, heavy rains intensified and flash flooding affected some 6,193 people across eight provinces of Afghanistan – 1,071 people in Kabul; 1,345 people in Kunar; 130 people in Laghman, 1,617 people in Maidan Wardak; 755 people in Nangarhar, 574 people in Nuristan; 581 people in Parwan; and 120 people in Zabul. Some 40 people were reportedly killed and 30 others were injured, while some 551 houses were damaged, and 121 others were destroyed. OCHA and humanitarian partners are conducting assessments alongside providing lifesaving assistance to the affected families. The number of people affected is anticipated to increase based on forecasts of more heavy rains and flooding in August, according to the Afghanistan meteorological department. (OCHA, 9 Aug 2023)

Of all the natural disasters that have occurred in Afghanistan this year, flash flooding and heavy rains caused the most havoc as of the end of August, followed by earthquakes and heavy snowfall during the 2022/2023 winter. In total, around 21,500 people (2,952 families) affected by flooding, with 51 people killed, a further 62 injured, and 553 houses destroyed, and significant damage caused to 1,950 homes in 23 provinces across the country. Floods and heavy rains have also reportedly destroyed more than 3,000 acres of agricultural land, 50 irrigation canals, and 20 Kms of road, forests and farm infrastructure. The damage was most extensive in the north-eastern, central, and southern regions where 8,640, 5,830, and 1,193 people respectively were affected. Communities living in the southeastern (917 people), western (490 people) and northeastern (360 people) areas were also impacted by the heavy rains. (OCHA, 9 Nov 2023)

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