No fewer than 50 people, mainly women and children, have been confirmed killed in flash flooding in the northern Afghanistan province of Baghlan.
According to scientists, Afghanistan, ravaged by four decades of war, is one of the least prepared to face the consequences of global warming. it remains one of the poorest countries in the world
Afghanistan is responsible for only 0.06% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but ranks sixth on the list of countries most at risk from the climate crisis, experts say. Half of its population lives under the poverty line, and 15 million people are experiencing food insecurity, according to the World Bank.
According to reports, the number was confirmed by Hedayatullah Hamdard, the head of the provincial natural disaster management department, who said that it could increase in the coming days.
He was quoted as saying that emergency personnel are still “searching for any possible victims under the mud and rubble, with the help of security forces from the national army and police”.
Heavy seasonal rain sparked the flooding and residents were unprepared for the sudden rush of water, he said, adding: “The weather is very gloomy right now and might pour down again”. Dozens of tents, blankets, and food have been provided to those who lost their homes, the official said.
Video footage on social media showed huge torrents of muddy water swamping roads – and bodies shrouded in white and black cloth. In one clip, children are crying and a group of men are looking at floodwaters, in which bits of broken wood and debris from homes can be seen.
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Authorities say that flooding has killed about 100 people in 10 of Afghanistan’s provinces, with no region spared since mid-April. Farmlands have been swamped in a country where 80% of the more than 40 million people depend on agriculture to survive.
Afghanistan – which had a relatively dry winter, making it more difficult for the soil to absorb rainfall – is vulnerable to the climate crisis.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
