Hundreds killed in floods in Afghanistan

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More than 300 people died as a result of floods in northern Afghanistan, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.

The floods were caused by heavy monsoon rains that fell suddenly on Friday. Thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged in the northern Baghlan province, which was said to be the most affected. About 600,000 people live there, including about 310,000 children, according to Save the Children.

Jawad, 38, told Agence France-Presse that his wife and four children, two daughters and two sons, died in the tsunami that swept the governorate. He was at work when he heard about the rising water levels. When he reached his house despite the flooded roads, only the chimney of the house could be seen.

-There's nothing left. “I swept away my whole house and my life,” he says over the phone.

Only his nine-year-old son survived. According to the Afghan authorities, the dead were mostly women and children.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, wrote on X that the floods are a reminder of the country's vulnerability to climate catastrophe and that immediate assistance and long-term planning are needed from the Taliban regime and international actors.

Last April, 70 people died in floods that took place in the country.