Flooded streets and devastated areas – this is the picture we are currently seeing in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Floods destroyed thousands of houses. More than 100 people died.
It has been raining heavily in many provinces in Afghanistan since Saturday. The soil had dried out due to an unusually dry winter and could hardly absorb the water masses. According to authorities, around 70 deaths have been reported in the past five days due to floods and flash floods. 50 people were injured. The floods also damaged or destroyed more than 2,600 homes and destroyed 95,000 hectares of farmland.
Residents in Pakistan bring their belongings to safety.
Northwest Pakistan is particularly badly affected
At least 65 people died in Pakistan within four days, authorities said. Most of the deaths occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest of the country. 32 people died there, including 15 children. All victims were killed by collapsing walls and roofs, said Anwar Khan, spokesman for the provincial disaster management agency. Many residents of flooded houses fled to higher ground and found shelter in makeshift shelters.
Afghanistan was particularly ill-prepared for the severe weather event. Decades of civil war have destroyed the infrastructure. In addition, many people in the country do not have access to medical care.
Unusually a lot of rain
According to the weather service, Pakistan has received twice as much rain as usual since the beginning of April. Since the beginning of April, meteorologists in the country have been observing unusual rainfall patterns, weather service spokesman Zaheer Ahmad Babar said. “From April 1 to 17, we recorded rainfall amounts that exceeded the historical average by 99 percent,” he explained. Climate change is a key factor in this development.
Rain eased across much of the country yesterday and today. However, new storms are expected in the coming days.