ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday offered condolences to neighboring Afghanistan as heavy rains and flash floods killed at least 66 people, damaged homes, infrastructure, and farmlands across provinces.
The storms, which started over the weekend, are adding to the challenges facing Afghanistan, which is still recovering from decades of conflict and natural disasters, including unprecedented droughts in the past four years, as well as a series of deadly earthquakes.
“The Government and people of Pakistan express deepest sympathies and condolences at the loss of precious lives and livelihoods and damage to properties caused by heavy rains and flash flooding in several provinces of Afghanistan,” the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement.
“We pray that the Almighty may grant patience and fortitude to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss and wish a swift recovery to the injured.”
Janan Sayeq, the spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority, told Arab News at least 66 people had been killed and 36 injured as per preliminary reports.
The number of reported casualties had doubled since Sunday, raising fears the actual toll could be higher. Many of the victims were killed when their homes collapsed on them.
Sayeq said 1,235 houses were destroyed.
Flash floods were reported in 23 of the country’s 34 provinces, damaging crops ahead of the harvest season, and badly hitting food security in the country as UN agencies estimate more than half of its population is in need of humanitarian assistance.
“The wheat crops will be ready for collection in a few weeks. But the rainfalls could destroy most of it,” said Gul Hussain, a farmer from the eastern Laghman province, which is one of the main agricultural regions.
The impact of drought, and now also floods, has been devastating for rural families struggling with access to water.
“The floods have had severe effects on the lives of people in the southeast, southwest and east of the country and have caused loss of life and damage to houses, as well as economic and agricultural effects as crops are destroyed and livestock are killed,” Najibullah Sadid, a hydromophologist, told Arab News.
The country’s mountainous topography and reduced vegetation are leaving little to no space for people to escape flood events, as preparedness and prevention in the face of the changing climate are almost nonexistent.
Water management infrastructure — such as check dams, trenches, terraces, and reservoirs that could help reduce flooding — is insufficient.
“For instance, Iran has 22 times more storage capacity and Pakistan 13 times more storage capacity than Afghanistan, making the country more vulnerable to floods during rainfalls,” Sadid said.
“Considering the increasing climate change effects as well as frequency and intensity of rainfalls, steps taken during the past two decades and now are limited and are not sufficient to control the situation.”
