Death toll from Balkh flooding rises to 20

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (PAN): The death toll from floods in northern Balkh province has climbed to 20, with nearly 2,000 households affected in the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif, and three nearby towns, officials said on Thursday.

Eight people were killed in Sholgar district, seven in Kushanda, four in Charkant and one in Mazar-i-Sharif as a result of the flooding, said Zabihullah Akhtari, an official at the governor’s house.

Nearly 1,800 houses were damaged by floodwaters in the three towns, where crops over thousands of acres of land were swept away, he said, adding teams had been dispatched to the affected areas to assess losses.

Sholgar district chief, Maulvi land had been inundated.

A resident of Ghaus Baloch village in Sholgar, Ainuddin, said he had lost his wheat crop over 10 acres of land to the flooding. Calling for urgent assistance, he said his family was among 40 others rendered homeless.

The governor’s house official said eight teams had been sent to affected areas for assessing the situation. Akhtari said 1,800 families would be delivered relief supplies once the assessment was completed.

He said the families would be delivered rice, wheat, pulses and biscuits and non-food items like tents, kitchen accessories, blankets, women and children’s clothing, etc. Relief supplies would be followed by cash assistance of up to 15,000 afghanis to each family.

ma/mud

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