At least 42 people have died, and 56 others have been injured in the recent floods in Afghanistan, said the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). NRC expressed concern that the recent floods will create more poverty in the country and lead to displacement of Afghans.
According NRC due to last week's floods in Afghanistan, 1,720 houses were destroyed and 3,073 houses were damaged, 12 wheat mills were destroyed and 28 bridges had collapsed. At the same time, over five kilometres of asphalt roads had also been damaged.
NRC estimates that around 18,000 people have been affected by the recent floods in Afghanistan.
In a statement, Neil Turner, the country director of NRC in Afghanistan, acknowledged that the situation in rural Afghanistan was already critical before the flooding. He said that the economic crisis following the Taliban takeover last year has pushed many Afghan farmers into severe debt.
According to him, crops were wiped away and winter was just around the corner and that these communities have zero time to recover.
The statement added that according to the assessment of the United Nations Food Program, Afghanistan is among the six countries whose population is at catastrophic risk of hunger that requires immediate attention.
At the same time, he stressed that the international community should take urgent measures to reduce the damage caused by the current economic restrictions imposed on Afghanistan.
