At Least 182 Dead, Hundreds Injured After Recent Heavy Flooding in Afghanistan

Recent heavy rainfall and flash flooding in Afghanistan has led to nearly 200 deaths nationwide.

At least 182 people have died after a month of heavy flooding, a spokesman for the Taliban, which regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, said on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, the spokesman said that over 250 people have been injured, and more than 3,000 houses were destroyed or damaged by the seasonal rains.

The United Nationals also addressed the recent flash flooding in a news briefing on Thursday.

"Between 16 and 21 August, flash floods killed 63 people and injured a further 115, including women and children according to local sources and our assessments," read the report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Since Aug. 1, 118 people have died.

In total, more than 8,200 families have been affected by flooding over the past week, which has impacted provinces across the country, they wrote.

"Already this year, 256 people have been killed by flash floods in Afghanistan," the United Nations shared, noting this marked a 75% increase since last year.

"We and our humanitarian partners have deployed assessment teams to identity needs in the affected areas. The teams are providing life-saving assistance to people including food, water and sanitation, tents, health care service, psychosocial support and other essential supplies," they wrote.

Mawlawi Sharafuddin Muslim, Deputy Minister of Disaster Management in Afghanistan, told CNN that multiple organizations have promised aid in wake of the disaster, but fears what could lie ahead if swift action isn't taken.

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"Winter is arriving soon and these affected families that include women and children do not have shelter to live under," the official told the outlet. "All their agricultural farms and orchards have either been completely destroyed or their harvest has been damaged."

He added, "If these people are not helped to get back to normalcy, their situation will definitely get worse in the coming weeks and months."

But Afghanistan isn't out of the woods weather-wise just yet. According to the AP, the local weather department expects more rain to impact nearly all 34 of the country's provinces.