No respite for Afghanistan as new spate of floods kill 66 people in northern province

Fresh floods in northern Afghanistan leave 66 dead, 1,500 houses damaged, and hundreds of acres of farmland destroyed.

Fresh floods killed 66 people in northern Afghanistan, a provincial official said on Sunday, after weeks of flooding that has inundated farms and villages and swept away swathes of communities.

Hundreds of people have died in flash floods this month that have also swamped agricultural lands in a country where 80% of the population depends on farming to survive.

The latest heavy floods hit multiple districts of Faryab province on Saturday night and “resulted in human and financial losses,” said Asmatullah Muradi, spokesman for the Faryab governor, in a statement.

“Due to the floods 66 people were killed,” he said, adding that at least five persons were injured and others were still missing.

1,500 houses hit

The flooding damaged more than 1,500 houses, swamped more than 1,000 acres of agricultural land and killed hundreds of livestock, he said.

The floods came a day after provincial police said more than 50 people were killed in flash flooding in the western province of Ghor.