This spring, devastating floods caused destruction in the provinces of Balkh, Zabul, Urozgan, and Kandahar in Afghanistan. The extent of the casualties has not yet been disclosed. Reports indicate that at least 300 residential houses and over three thousand acres of farmland have been damaged in Balkh province. Residents of Zabul and Urozgan provinces have reported economic losses, and they have also stated that the floods have damaged and blocked the highways connecting several of Zabul’s districts to the provincial center.
Asif Waziri, spokesperson of the Taliban security command in Balkh, confirmed the report and stated that the Zare district has been subject to flooding since last Thursday in multiple areas. He reported that these floods have caused damage to at least 300 homes, as well as the destruction of thousands of animals and over three thousand acres of farmland. The Taliban security command in Balkh also reported that rescue squads have been dispatched to the Zare district to assess the victims’ health and evacuate them from the ruins.
According to local sources, approximately 300 homes belonging to families with missing members were destroyed as floods simultaneously wreaked havoc on the Mirzaei neighborhood of the Zare district, which was home to approximately 1,000 households.
According to reports from Zabul Province, the recent heavy rains and flooding have caused the closure of the roads connecting seven districts to the provincial capital. On Friday, March 24, Husht–e–Subh reported that the districts of Arghandab, Deh–chopan, Khak–e–Afghan, Shamelzo, Atqar, Nawbahar, and Shinkai have been affected by the transportation blockage.
The flooding in Zabul province has caused a variety of problems for the people, including a lack of food and water. The Taliban have yet to make any comments regarding the potential losses and destruction caused by the flooding in this province.
Simultaneously, the storm–induced flooding cut off three Kandahar districts—Arghistan, Marouf, and Zherai—from the main part of the province, resulting in considerable economic harm. According to sources in Kandahar province, the powerful floods destroyed more than 30 homes, and there is still no information on how many people have perished due to this natural disaster in Kandahar.
On Friday, March 24, 2023, flooding, snowfall, and rain were experienced in many of Afghanistan‘s provinces. At the start of spring, certain areas in Ghazni province were blanketed in snow. After heavy snowfall in several parts of the province, the residents of Ghazni province posted footage on social media, claiming that the roads to the city center were closed and a large number of travelers from the Jaghori district were stranded on Loman Road.
On Friday, March 24, the inhabitants of Ghazani province informed Hasht–e–Subh that there had been heavy snowfall in the districts of Malestan, Jaghato, Qarabagh, and Aab–band since the previous week, causing considerable harm to the residents.
Approximately 50 centimeters of snowfall was recorded in the Qarabagh and Jaghori districts of the Ghazni province, impacting a number of communities. While there has been a significant amount of snowfall in certain areas, resulting in crop damage, there is no further information available regarding the extent of losses in these districts.
On Monday of last week, the Taliban‘s Ministry of Natural Disaster Risk Management released data on the number of people killed by natural disasters in the past year. According to the Taliban‘s statistics, at least 1,202 deaths in the country occurred due to natural disasters in the last year. Mohammad Abbas Akhund, the acting minister of the ministry, stated in a video message on March 20 that in addition to the deaths caused by natural disasters from March 2022 to March 2023, 2,059 individuals were injured. He further reported that 23,140 other private buildings sustained minor damage, while 10,808 were completely destroyed.
Recent droughts and floods demonstrate that Afghanistan has experienced a great deal of extreme climatic changes and conditions in the past few years.
