An update on the floods in Afghanistan by Elizabeth Saary
Predictions about the worsening flood situation in Afghanistan unfortunately seem to be coming true. A combination of torrential rain and melting snow has caused devastating floods and as of this morning, the numbers of lives lost stands at over 200 with even more people still missing.
It now seems that the Deh Rawud district in Uruzgan province has been worst hit by the floods. The Helmand river burst its banks, destroying homes, inundating farmland and sweeping away livestock. Food and shelter are now being airlifted to the province.
The western provinces of Farah and Herat have also been hit hard. There are reports that over 10,000 homes have been destroyed in these two areas.
Many houses in Afghanistan are built from mud which makes them highly vulnerable in a flood. The situation may yet worsen as the thaw will continue and more rain is forecast. There are now fears that the spread of disease will add to the problem.
The threat of flooding is also being felt in parts of Europe. There have been some heavy snowfalls during the winter months but this has been followed by a dramatic rise in temperatures over the past few days.
The rapid thawing of snow has led to swollen rivers in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Some rivers have already burst their banks but damage has so far been kept at fairly low levels and certainly nothing on the scale of the record floods of the summer 2002.
In the Czech Rebublic more than thirty serious flood alerts have been issued and the situation is still being closely monitored.
|
|
