Floods from heavy rains and storms have killed about 40 people in eastern Afghanistan and about 1,500 children have lost their homes in the latest climate disaster to hit the country, Save the Children said Tuesday.
According to a statement issued by the organization, about 1.36 million people – of which an estimated 858,000 are children – live in the districts in Nangarhar, Kunar, and Laghman provinces that have been impacted by the storms that come just two months after heavy rainfall in the northeast killed about 350 people.
The latest floods have injured at least 350 people and caused extensive damage to about 400 houses as well as a hospital in Jalalabad city.
The Islamic Emirate has confirmed these numbers but warned they could rise as rescue operations continue.
Save the Children stated the storms have also caused damage to a reception center in Torkham set up for returning refugees from Pakistan.
More than 649,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023 after Pakistan said all undocumented foreigners must leave the country voluntarily or face deportation. Nearly half of all returnees are children.
Infrastructure damage has also been reported to telecommunications networks and several roads have been cut off in Nangarhar following the storms. This is making it difficult to access affected communities.
Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said: “Afghanistan’s children have endured decades of suffering and now extreme flooding has battered the country again and again, bringing with it fresh devastation, destruction and death.
“These extremely heavy rains and floods are further evidence of our rapidly changing climate, outpacing families’ ability to adapt. They are especially harming those least responsible for the damage – children.
“Afghanistan is already struggling to meet existing needs due to dwindling international funding. With more support from the international community, we can together address the immediate and long term impacts of the climate crisis in Afghanistan and help communities to prepare for the impacts of extreme weather events,” he said.
Save the Children is responding to urgent needs through existing health and emergency response programming. Teams have also been deployed to the affected areas to determine the extent of damage and immediate needs.
