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Afghans search for dozens missing after devastating flood
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Disasters & Emergencies

Afghans search for dozens missing after devastating flood

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • At least 23 people died and around 100 are missing after devastating floods smashed through Afghanistan's Nuristan province.
  • Rescuers are struggling to reach trapped residents, using wooden poles and bare hands to search for the missing amid mud and boulders.
  • The disaster agency and the UN are assessing the situation, while the military has been deployed to aid relief efforts in the flood-prone region.

Rescuers battled on Tuesday to reach residents trapped under mud and boulders in eastern Afghanistan, where a major flood killed at least 23 people and left around 100 unaccounted for. The deluge smashed through Nuristan province on Monday, with an AFP journalist witnessing dozens of people in the remote capital, Parun, using wooden poles and their bare hands to search for the missing.

It felt like there was an earthquake, and I heard children and people screaming.

— Farid Gul ZaheerA 34-year-old pharmacist describing the flood's impact.

Farid Gul Zaheer, a 34-year-old pharmacist, described the event as "like an earthquake." He said he had "never witnessed such a dangerous flood" and heard "children and people screaming" as he tried to flee. A bulldozer proved of limited use in clearing debris in Parun, where the flood buried shops and smashed buildings with huge boulders. The provincial governor's office reported that Parun's mayor and other government employees were among the missing.

I have never witnessed such a dangerous flood.

— Farid Gul ZaheerA 34-year-old pharmacist describing the flood's impact.

Zakirullah Zaki, manager of the Spogmai Hotel, called the event "an act of God." He noted that "the rest of the hotels, markets, and shops were completely destroyed," though his hotel remained standing amidst the devastation. Juma Khan Nayel, communications chief for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, described a "devastating situation" with unprecedented water levels. Volunteers are working by hand to supply food, water, and tents to those displaced.

It felt like an act of God struck us.

— Zakirullah ZakiManager of the Spogmai Hotel describing the flood.

The military has been deployed to support relief efforts, and the United Nations is assessing the disaster. Zaheer, the pharmacist, stated he had "lost everything" and that "everyone is traumatized." The flooding also affected neighboring Pakistan, killing 12 people, and follows earlier deadly rains in March and April that killed over 200 across both countries. Afghanistan's environmental protection agency head has highlighted the country's vulnerability to climate change and increasing floods, which he said "have severely affected the Afghan people and have contributed to a humanitarian crisis."

The rest of the hotels, markets, and shops were completely destroyed.

— Zakirullah ZakiManager of the Spogmai Hotel describing the flood's destruction.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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