3 killed as flash floods wreak havoc in Nuristan

PARON (Pajhwok): Unleashed by heavy rains, flash floods killed three people and damaged homes and destroyed the road connecting Kamdesh and Bargi Matal districts with Paron, the capital of eastern Nuristan province.

Heavy rains lashed Kamdesh and Want Wegal districts for two consecutive days, triggering flash floods, said Maulvi Qayamuddin Janbaz, head of Nuristan Natural Disaster Management Authority.

He said initial reports suggested three people had been killed in the floods that destroyed the road leading to Kamdesh and Bergi Matal districts in Baghicha area of Kamdesh district. The road has been closed against traffic.

Maulvi Inayatur Rahman, a tribal elder in Want Wegal district, said the flash floods swept away 500 goats, sheep and 13 cows and the rest of animals were facing death due to extreme hunger.

He said the floods washed away three vehicle , more than 15 flour mills, three power plants and crops on hundreds of acres of land.

He said two men died after the floods swept away their cars.

Hanif Afghan, agricultural affairs officer at Nuristan Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, said  they had received information about the floods in Want Wegal district, but the details of the floods in Kotia and Kamarigal valleys in Kamdesh district were awaited.

He said two people died in the floods in Want Wegal and a third in Kamarigal area of Kamdesh district, but he had no information about those injured.

He said besides agricultural lands, up to 100 small dams and rivers were also destroyed and mills and power houses washed away.

Almost 20 days ago, severe floods destroyed the Mandol main road and as a result commuters are facing many problems.

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