Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall over recent days have caused lots of casualties and devastation in some parts of the country, particularly in southern provinces. Kandahar city and adjacent districts are reportedly the most affected areas. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the flash floods have killed tens of people, including women and children, damaged or destroyed over 2000 homes, and affected other infrastructure and government buildings in the province.
Natural disasters are a major challenge for the country besides war. Afghan people often suffer heavy casualties and financial losses in disasters due to weakness and lack of preparedness on the part of the government. The government’s insufficient disaster preparedness and management spell humanitarian crises in many cases. It is right that natural disasters are unavoidable, yet the government, as a responsible side, must have necessary countermeasures in place that can mitigate the level of damage and save lives as much as possible when the disasters occur. By adopting proper strategies, the government ought to give priority to the enhancement of the capacity of Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) in disaster resiliency and crisis response because the body cannot appropriately respond to natural disasters and is largely a dysfunctional government organ.
Recent flash floods have caused a trail of destruction in the country’s south, depriving hundreds of families of shelter in the cold weather. Thus, these affected families are in dire need of emergency relief. Meanwhile, since the flooding has washed away homes and farm lands besides inflicting human losses on local communities, the first aid alone cannot meet their problems. The emergency aid should be a priority, but the affected families should receive long-term assistance so that they can rebuild shelters and restore their sole source of livelihood by making their fields arable.
So far, neither the government, especially ANDMA, nor international donors and relief agencies have appropriately responded to the needs of these communities. Considering the high rate of chronic poverty in the country, the majority of the affected families will not be able to rebuild their homes and return back to normal life without the assistance of Afghan government and international relief organizations. It is also the national and religious duty of the rich Afghan people besides government and international aid agencies to extend a helping hand to the victims of natural disasters.
