645 families across seven Afghan provinces affected by rains, floods: OCHA

Heavy rains and flash flooding have affected some 645 families across seven provinces in Afghanistan, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Tuesday.

OCHA said on Twitter that aid agencies are assessing the impact and providing aid where needed, but limited funding is constraining their ability to scale up assistance.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday its team continues to provide shelter assistance to people affected by natural disasters.

The UN agency said that in Khulm, Sholgara and Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh, they provided cash for transnational shelter construction to 223 families, and cash for shelter repair to 272 families.

Some of the victims in Sholgara district of Balkh province expressed concern that the level of aid is not enough.

“If aid is not provided seriously in the district, it will have bad consequences for the people in the future,” said Sultan Ali, a resident of Sholgara district.

“The flood filled our wells with dirt. We don’t have clean water at all,” said Qadir Khan, another resident of the district.

The State Ministry for Disaster Management said that they have provided some aid to flood victims in different provinces, but more aid is needed.

According to the ministry, 10 people have died, 76 people have been injured, 1,779 homes have been damaged and 22,000 acres of agricultural land have been destroyed in 23 provinces of the country since the start of spring due to floods and earthquakes.