Afghanistan floods kill dozens, worsen already desperate situation

Heavy rains have caused flash floods in western Afghanistan that killed dozens, destroyed homes and swept through makeshift shelters housing displaced families, a government official says.

Heavy rains have caused flash floods in western Afghanistan that killed dozens, destroyed homes and swept through makeshift shelters housing displaced families, a government official says.

Two days of flooding that started on Thursday killed 12 people in Jawzjan and two in Badghis, provinces that border Turkmenistan, said Hasibullah Shir Khani, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, on Thursday. Two others were killed in Herat and another in Sar-e Pul province, he said.

Meanwhile, another official with ANDMA said flooding killed at least 12 people in the northern province of Faryab and 10 people in the western province of Herat. He put the death toll in Badghis at eight while saying that five people also lost their lives in Balkh province in the north, adding that more than 3,000 houses had been destroyed.

Floods have destroyed hundreds of homes, some historic sites, thousands of acres of farmland, bridges and highways, said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for Herat province.