JALALABAD/KABUL): Flash floods have swept away dozens of people and houses, destroying hundreds of acres of crops in Kabul and Nangarhar provinces, officials said on Saturday.
Four villages of the Sarobi district in Kabul province were devastated by the rain-induced floods, a tribal elder, Awal Gul, told Pajhwok Afghan News,
“As of 2.30pm, reports from different areas spoke of 96 people, including women and children, swept away by the flooding triggered by torrential rains,” he said, adding 40 bodies had been found so far.
Allah Mohammad, a member of the Sarobi Regional Council, said the floods had caused life and material losses in the district. Scores of houses and large swathes of agricultural lands had been damaged, he continued.
A resident of Khak-i-Jabbar district, Mohammad Daud, said 15 members of a family were killed in the flooding in Chalao area. He feared the death toll could soar.
Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) chief Dayem Kakar said: “Right now we are on our way to Sarobi along with a team of rescuers. Initial reports indicate eight deaths and a large number of missing people.”
More than 430 houses and shops have been ruined, according to the official, who said the floods had caused large-scale devastation in the Surkhrod district of Nangarhar and the Barg-i-Matal district of Nuristan.
At least 10 people were killed in Nangarhar, said the Surkhrod district chief, Ali Akbar Sadat. A number of people were marooned in the town, he added.
Two helicopters sent on a rescue mission to Sarobi could not land, said the ANDMA head, who explained the aircraft instead flew in Surkhrod to help the affected people.
Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai voiced his deep anguish over the flood-wrought devastation. He directed the authorities concerned to rush relief supplies to the affected areas.
A source in the main Sarobi district hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of three children, two women and three men. He feared the death toll could be much higher. A large number of soldiers and policemen, who were engaged in a rescue operation, were also washed away.
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