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At least Five People Killed, Hundreds Of Homes Washed Away In Afghanistan Floods
KABUL -- Torrential rains and flooding have swept across much of Afghanistan, killing at least five people, destroying and damaging hundreds of houses, and sweeping away livestock, officials say.
Hashmat Bahaduri, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), said that heavy rains and flooding have hit 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces in the past 24 hours.
In the western province of Herat, five people were killed when their houses collapsed, according to Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Hamid Mubarez, the disaster and humanitarian affairs director in Herat, said that 17 other people are missing.
They were last heard from while traveling in a van in the Obey district on April 15, Mubarez said.
The floods affected other areas in the province, including the districts of Kohsan, Karrokh, Shindand, and Guzara.
In the capital, the Kabul River burst its banks in places and swamped surrounding neighborhoods.
Bahaduri said that more than 110 houses have already been partially or completely destroyed in the city.
Authorities have warned residents living along the river to be prepared to evacuate their homes as water levels surged.
The highway between the cities of Herat and Kandahar has been closed to traffic due to damage caused by flash floods.
More than 110 people have been killed due to flooding in Afghanistan so far this year, according to the ANDMA.
This winter saw heavy snowfall across parts of Afghanistan, cutting off many areas and leading to flash floods in the spring melt.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and TOLOnews
https://www.rferl.org/a/at-least-fi...shed-away-in-afghanistan-floods/29884393.html
Iran suffers '$2bn in damages' as flood toll continues to rise
Officials say 725 bridges destroyed, 14,000km of roads damaged, as six more people confirmed dead in the southwest.
14 Apr 2019
Local communities are leading relief efforts, with soldiers and volunteers clearing rubble, diverting water, building dykes, and distributing supplies [Atta Kenare/AFP]
Floods in Iran have killed 76 people and caused more than $2.2bn in damages in recent weeks, with flood warnings still in place for large swaths of the country.
Six more people were confirmed dead in the country's south, according to a new toll published on Sunday.
"With the death of five people in the Khuzestan province and another person in Ilam province, the death toll has now reached 76," since March 19, a statement by the coroner's office said.
The two southwestern provinces are the latest to be overwhelmed by floods that first hit the northeast of the usually arid country, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate from cities and villages.
Officials have again issued flood warnings for the east of Iran, with heavy rains that began on Saturday forecast to continue.
Since mid-March, flash floods have hit 25 of Iran's 31 provinces, forcing mass evacuations, ravaging infrastructure, and inflicting heavy losses on the agricultural sector.
Damaged vehicles are seen after flash flooding in Shiraz last month [Tasnim News Agency/Reuters]
"Twenty-five provinces and more than 4,400 villages across the country were affected by the floods," Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli told parliament, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He said the damages amount to between 300 and 350 trillion rials - between $2.2bn and $2.6bn at the free market rate.
Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami meanwhile told government officials that "725 bridges have been totally destroyed."
"More than 14,000 kilometres of roads have been damaged," he said, according to IRNA.
The head of Iran's meteorology service told the same parliamentary session that the floods do not necessarily mean that a decades-long drought has ended.
"The recent floods were due to climate change and global warming," Sahar Tajbakhsh said.
Sanctions hamper relief efforts
The government of President Hassan Rouhani has been mounting relief efforts, enlisting the help of the cash-strapped banking system to offer help in the form of cheap or interest-free loans.
Local communities are leading relief efforts, with soldiers and volunteers clearing rubble, diverting water, building dykes, and distributing supplies.
"Everything that comes through these doors is donated by private citizens," said Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi, reporting from an aid camp in the capital, Tehran.
"So far, volunteers who have been at it for about three weeks have collected and dispatched 30 truckloads of supplies worth tens of thousands of dollars to flood-hit areas all over the country."
The Islamic Republic has received aid from neighbouring countries and further afield, with France on Saturday donating 210 tents and 114 pumps.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF are also helping, as are Germany, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.
But, aid workers in Iran say US sanctions are hampering their ability to help those affected.
"Right now, we need some boats and machinery to control the water flow," Fereshte Ghaffari, a volunteer for the Imam Ali society said.
"It would be much easier for international agencies to provide them. Due to the sanctions, prices are [also] much higher. If it wasn't for sanctions, [things wouldn't be as expensive] and we could do much more with the money we've collected," she told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...lood-toll-continues-rise-190414085957795.html
@Verve Notice how the most affected countries with floods are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
KABUL -- Torrential rains and flooding have swept across much of Afghanistan, killing at least five people, destroying and damaging hundreds of houses, and sweeping away livestock, officials say.
Hashmat Bahaduri, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), said that heavy rains and flooding have hit 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces in the past 24 hours.
In the western province of Herat, five people were killed when their houses collapsed, according to Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Hamid Mubarez, the disaster and humanitarian affairs director in Herat, said that 17 other people are missing.
They were last heard from while traveling in a van in the Obey district on April 15, Mubarez said.
The floods affected other areas in the province, including the districts of Kohsan, Karrokh, Shindand, and Guzara.
In the capital, the Kabul River burst its banks in places and swamped surrounding neighborhoods.
Bahaduri said that more than 110 houses have already been partially or completely destroyed in the city.
Authorities have warned residents living along the river to be prepared to evacuate their homes as water levels surged.
The highway between the cities of Herat and Kandahar has been closed to traffic due to damage caused by flash floods.
More than 110 people have been killed due to flooding in Afghanistan so far this year, according to the ANDMA.
This winter saw heavy snowfall across parts of Afghanistan, cutting off many areas and leading to flash floods in the spring melt.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and TOLOnews
https://www.rferl.org/a/at-least-fi...shed-away-in-afghanistan-floods/29884393.html
Iran suffers '$2bn in damages' as flood toll continues to rise
Officials say 725 bridges destroyed, 14,000km of roads damaged, as six more people confirmed dead in the southwest.
14 Apr 2019
Local communities are leading relief efforts, with soldiers and volunteers clearing rubble, diverting water, building dykes, and distributing supplies [Atta Kenare/AFP]
Floods in Iran have killed 76 people and caused more than $2.2bn in damages in recent weeks, with flood warnings still in place for large swaths of the country.
Six more people were confirmed dead in the country's south, according to a new toll published on Sunday.
"With the death of five people in the Khuzestan province and another person in Ilam province, the death toll has now reached 76," since March 19, a statement by the coroner's office said.
The two southwestern provinces are the latest to be overwhelmed by floods that first hit the northeast of the usually arid country, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate from cities and villages.
Officials have again issued flood warnings for the east of Iran, with heavy rains that began on Saturday forecast to continue.
Since mid-March, flash floods have hit 25 of Iran's 31 provinces, forcing mass evacuations, ravaging infrastructure, and inflicting heavy losses on the agricultural sector.
Damaged vehicles are seen after flash flooding in Shiraz last month [Tasnim News Agency/Reuters]
"Twenty-five provinces and more than 4,400 villages across the country were affected by the floods," Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli told parliament, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He said the damages amount to between 300 and 350 trillion rials - between $2.2bn and $2.6bn at the free market rate.
Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami meanwhile told government officials that "725 bridges have been totally destroyed."
"More than 14,000 kilometres of roads have been damaged," he said, according to IRNA.
The head of Iran's meteorology service told the same parliamentary session that the floods do not necessarily mean that a decades-long drought has ended.
"The recent floods were due to climate change and global warming," Sahar Tajbakhsh said.
Sanctions hamper relief efforts
The government of President Hassan Rouhani has been mounting relief efforts, enlisting the help of the cash-strapped banking system to offer help in the form of cheap or interest-free loans.
Local communities are leading relief efforts, with soldiers and volunteers clearing rubble, diverting water, building dykes, and distributing supplies.
"Everything that comes through these doors is donated by private citizens," said Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi, reporting from an aid camp in the capital, Tehran.
"So far, volunteers who have been at it for about three weeks have collected and dispatched 30 truckloads of supplies worth tens of thousands of dollars to flood-hit areas all over the country."
The Islamic Republic has received aid from neighbouring countries and further afield, with France on Saturday donating 210 tents and 114 pumps.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF are also helping, as are Germany, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.
But, aid workers in Iran say US sanctions are hampering their ability to help those affected.
"Right now, we need some boats and machinery to control the water flow," Fereshte Ghaffari, a volunteer for the Imam Ali society said.
"It would be much easier for international agencies to provide them. Due to the sanctions, prices are [also] much higher. If it wasn't for sanctions, [things wouldn't be as expensive] and we could do much more with the money we've collected," she told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...lood-toll-continues-rise-190414085957795.html
@Verve Notice how the most affected countries with floods are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
