Floods in Afghanistan have claimed the lives of more than 300 people, the UN agency said

A terrible toll. New flash floods that occurred on Friday killed more than 300 people in Baghlan province alone in northern Afghanistan, the World Food Program announced to AFP on Saturday, May 11. Afghanistan, which experienced an extremely dry winter that made it difficult for the soil to absorb rain, is highly vulnerable to climate disturbances.

“Monsoon rains caused flash floods and people, unable to prepare, were unable to save themselves, which explains these human losses.”He explained, on Saturday, Hidayatullah Hamdard, head of the province's Natural Disaster Management Authority. Video clips posted on social media show violent torrents of mud rushing through the streets, in addition to corpses wrapped in shrouds.

A previous assessment from another UN agency, The International Organization for Migration reported that more than 200 people were killed in these catastrophic floods. “IOM sticks to 200 deaths for now.”The agency's spokesman was quoted by AFP in response to the World Food Programme's findings. Agence France-Presse quoted the Taliban authorities for their part “131 dead and more than a hundred wounded”.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid expressed in the evening “deep sympathy” From the authorities to the flood victims. He asked the Ministries of Natural Disaster Management, Defence, Interior and regional authorities to use all their resources to save lives and provide treatment to the injured.