22 dead, dozens missing as flash floods hit Maidan Wardak

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 22 people have died and many more have been missing in severe rain-induced floods in central Maidan Wardak province, officials said on Sunday.

At least four people were wounded in the floods that swept through provincial capital Maidan Shahr, Jalrez, Chak, Syedabad, Nirkh and Jaghatu districts last night.

Disaster Management Department head Maulvi Faizullah Jalali told Pajhwok Afghan News the flooding occurred due to heavy rainfall last night, causing residents heavy life and financial losses.

Many people were killed when floodwaters gushed into a house where a wedding ceremony was taking place in the Takana area of Jalrez, Jalali said.

He added: “The bodies of 22 people were recovered from the rubles of the house that collapsed and dozens were still missing. Efforts are underway to find them.”

Preliminary information shows hundreds of houses were partially or completely washed away. The Kabul-Bamyan highway and many other routes have been closed.

“Four people were injured in the Kajir Khel village of Chak district and evacuated to hospital for medical treatment, the official said. Fifteen houses were damaged”.

Floodwater also destroyed many retaining walls and farmlands in the affected areas.

Local residents also reported heavy financial losses and asked the government and humanitarian organisations for assistance.

Sharifullah Hotak, a tribal elder from Jalrez, wrote on his Facebook page: “At least 20 people were killed by the floods in Takana while 40 more have been missing. We want the Disaster Management Authority nd other humanitarian organisations to provide aid to the affected people.”

Rahimullah Sarwari, an inhabitant of Nirkh, told Pajhwok he did not have exact casualty figures but the overnight flooding destroyed crops and orchards on dozens of acres of land. He also called for aid to the affected people.

Haji Amir Jan, 65, from the Araban Valley of Chak district, said: “I had never seen such massive floods in my entire life. At midnight people living near streams left their houses for safer places.”

Without putting a specific figure on losses, he said the floods swept away many houses and farmlands in their area.

Attaullah Rauf, a resident of Mullah Khel village of Maidan Shahr, said their area also witnessed severe floods resulting from heavy rains.

He said five people died in Busraq area, as many were injured and evacuated to the provincial hospital for treatment.

Anisa Taj Wardak also wrote on her Facebook account: “Some residents of Jaghatu say severe floods were triggered by heavy rainfall and residents suffered a lot of financial losses.”

The floods destroyed many orchards and crops, she said.

A day earlier, the Meteorological Department warned of heavy rainfall and floods in nine provinces of the country.

aw/mud