Severe Floods Claim at Least 17 Lives in Afghanistan

Devastating Floods in Afghanistan

Floods caused by heavy rainfall and snow in Afghanistan have resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people and injured another 11, according to authorities. Among the victims were five members of a family whose roof collapsed last Thursday in Kabkan, a district in Herat province, stated Mohammad Yousaf Saeedi, spokesperson for the governor of Herat. Two of the victims were children.

The majority of the casualties have been reported in the affected districts since Monday, and severe weather has disrupted daily life in central, northern, southern, and western regions, according to Mohammad Yousaf Hammad, spokesperson for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA). Hammad noted that the floods have destroyed infrastructure, killed livestock, and affected 1,800 families, worsening conditions for already vulnerable urban and rural communities.

Authorities have dispatched assessment teams to the hardest-hit areas, where studies are underway to determine additional needs. A video clip posted on social media shows a truck overturned due to the rapid floods on the Herat-Kandahar highway near Dasht-e Bakwa. Another video captures several individuals desperately trying to escape after their bus was overturned in a strong current.

Afghanistan, like its neighbors Pakistan and India, is extremely vulnerable to extreme weather events, particularly flash floods following seasonal rains. Decades of conflict, poor infrastructure, deforestation, and the increasingly severe effects of climate change have amplified the impact of these disasters, especially in isolated areas where many homes are made of mud and provide limited protection.

In August, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, killing more than 1,400 people. Rescue efforts for those affected by the earthquake were hampered due to flash floods in the Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The United Nations and various aid agencies have warned that Afghanistan will remain one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises into 2026. The UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $1.7 billion appeal this week to assist nearly 18 million people in urgent need across the country.