Search For Survivors Continues Following Deadly Flash Flooding In Northern Afghanistan

An Afghan man looks at the damage to his home on May 12 following flash flooding that has inundated northern Afghanistan's Baghlan Province,

The latest wave of flooding from heavy seasonal rains has left more than 300 people dead, many more injured, and more than 1,000 homes destroyed, according to UN World Food Program (WFP) officials.
 

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government said on May 12 that at least 1,630 people were injured in Baghlan Province, and more than 2,660 homes were destroyed as emergency crews and family members continue to search for survivors.

A video grab of Afghan men shoveling thick mud as they search for survivors and try to salvage their belongings in Baghlan Province.

An ambulance reaches flooded areas near the village of Shirjalal in Baghlan.

The destruction was most severe in Baghlan Province, where "unprecedented rainfall" has damaged or destroyed thousands of homes since May 10.

Baghlan Province was initially said to be among the hardest-hit areas, but officials have since added Badakhshan, Ghor, and Herat provinces to that list.

Carrying a child, Salim, a 45-year-old man from Baghlan who lost four of his family members in the flash flooding, visits the graves of his relatives in the village of Sherjalal.

Haji Sarakha, a 48-year-old Afghan man who lost all of his family members in floods, receives treatment inside an ambulance.

 

A view of damaged homes following the flash flooding in the village of Shirjalal.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change and the least prepared to adapt, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

 

An Afghan boy surveys a vehicle stuck in a flooded area after flash floods in the village of Shahrak Muhajireen.

Volunteers distribute bread among people affected by floods near the village of Shirjalal.

Transport links and supply routes in the mountainous region remain severely disrupted.

A young girl, who lost four of her family members, stands beside the grave of her brother near the village of Sherjalal.

Rescue crews are searching for victims in hard-to-reach areas of northern Afghanistan, where at least 300 people have died in flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall.