United States military helicopters airlifted stranded families to safety and aid agencies distributed vital food after devastating floods in Afghanistan left nearly 200 people dead, officials said on Monday.
Torrents of melting snow and fierce rains caused rivers to burst their banks in many parts of the poverty-stricken country, washing away mosques and livestock and leaving thousands of people homeless.
In one of the worst-hit areas, the Deh Rawood district of south-central Uruzgan province, the US-led coalition helped relief efforts, as unarmed aid workers have difficulty operating in the Taliban-infested region.
Homes on a river island began to collapse as water surged through and trapped families were ferried across the waters by twin-rotor Chinook helicopters, the US military said in a statement.
The helicopters also brought water, blankets, shovels and pick-axes to a makeshift relief camp set up near the river.
”After the supplies got on the ground, the US forces took a step back,” Captain John Williams said, adding that the district chief and the provincial governor had then taken charge.
Officials said on Sunday that the floods had killed 115 people in Uruzgan and a further 76 in the western province of Farah.
The Afghan interior ministry also reported widespread damage in northern Balkh, Jawzjan and Panjshir provinces, eastern Laghman and southern Nimroz.
In western Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme have been shipping supplies from the main city of Herat out to the worst-affected parts of Farah.
”We sent 25 metric tonnes of food to Farah from Herat last week, which should cover the needs of 5 000 people for two weeks. Distribution will start Tuesday,” Maarten Roest of the World Food Programme said.
UNHCR is also distributing blankets, plastic sheeting and ground mats, soap and cooking sets to flood-hit areas across the country, using the US military to ferry supplies in the south, Tim Irwin of the refugee agency said.
Afghanistan has suffered its worst winter for a decade after seven years of drought and has little infrastructure to cope with flood waters being brought on by spring weather.
At least 580 people died from disease, avalanches and road accidents during the cold spell, officials and aid agencies say, and many more are feared dead in remote parts of the country. — Sapa-AFP