KABUL (SW) – Officials at the Ministry of Disaster Management say that 42 people have died and 45 others have been injured in different provinces of the country due to natural disasters in the past month.
According to the officials of the ministry, hundreds of residential houses were destroyed in floods and more than 19 thousand acres of agricultural land were also destroyed.
Shafiullah Rahimi, the spokesperson of the State Ministry of Emergency Response, told Salam Watandar: “We have helped 15,000 families this month. In one month, 42 people died, 45 were injured, 341 houses were destroyed and more than 19,000 agricultural lands were destroyed.”
Kapisa, Maidan Wardak, Takhar, Badakhshan, Ghor, Kandahar, Kunar, Nuristan, Laghman and Paktika are the provinces that have been damaged the most.
The victims of natural disasters do not consider the aid given to them as sufficient and say that the aid has not brought any change in the situation.
Khairuddin, a resident of Ghor, who lost four members of his family due to floods, said that the government has only helped him with tents and blankets.
He said: “I lost my mother and wife, I also lost a 29-day-old baby, I also lost my sister, and my other sister is injured. They gave me a blanket and a tent, but nothing else. It didn’t help.”
Shukrullah, a resident of Maidanwardak, who was affected by the floods, has been asking for help from for days now. “Floods have caused damage in all the districts of Maidanwardak, people need help and they want help urgently.”
At the same time, agriculture experts are worried about the damage caused to agricultural lands due to floods and say that this year wheat will be less in the country and the price of flour will increase.
Muhammad Zarif Sharifi, a university teacher and an expert in agriculture, said: “Wheat is one of the most important agricultural products of Afghanistan. “Floods have destroyed most of the agricultural land and this will cause a shortage of wheat this year. Compared to previous years, we will need 25 percent more imported wheat from foreign countries and the price will also increase.”
In addition to personal losses due to floods in the country, water supply canals and roads have also suffered heavy damages.
ENDS
