[ This report does not necessarily reflect
the views of the United Nations]
Kabul, 2 May 2006 (IRIN) - Floods
caused by heavy rains and melting snow in the northern Afghan provinces
of Baghlan and Faryab have killed at least 16 people and left hundreds
of families in urgent need of assistance, officials said on Tuesday.
"Flash floods that followed heavy rains killed at least seven people and destroyed 120 houses in the Garziwan district of Faryab province," Abdullatif Ibrahimi, governor of Faryab, said.
The flooding also killed a villager in another district and at least 500 head of cattle, while 2,000 hectares of farm land were washed away, the governor added.
Flood waters also killed eight people in Baghlan. "Six members of a family died when the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rain and flooding in the Khost district of Baghlan and two other people were killed in Farreng district," Mohammad Alam Rasekh, governor of Baghlan, said.
Abdurrahim Zarin, spokesman for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) said that the ministry had sent teams to the affected areas to assess the damage.
"Due to the difficult terrain and road problems, our teams are still busy assessing the damage in many remote villages and we hope we will soon start our aid delivery to the affected families," Zarin noted.
In late April, flooding caused by heavy rains in the Khuram Wa Sarbagh district of the northern province of Samangan destroyed 30 houses and damaged another 76, according to officials from the MRRD.
In January 2005, floods and storms left 48 people dead and more than 1,000 injured in 13 provinces across Afghanistan. The most badly affected area was the northeastern province of Badakhshan, where floods killed at least 40 people and left up to 1,000 homes destroyed in 65 villages.
[ENDS]