Floods, lightning strikes kill 15 across three provinces

Local sources report that floods and lightning strikes over the past two days have resulted in 15 fatalities across the provinces of Herat, Uruzgan, and Ghor.

According to these sources, three people died in Adraskan, Herat; three in Uruzgan; and two in Ghor due to the floods. Additionally, lightning strikes in Uruzgan claimed the lives of seven individuals.

The incidents have also left about ten people injured. Alongside the human toll, significant material damages were reported in the neighboring province of Farah.

Taliban said that sixteen villages in the districts of Charsada and Marghab have been destroyed due to the flooding.

Residents of Adraskan in Herat reported that hundreds of homes and thousands of acres of land have suffered damages. According to local sources, hundreds of homes and thousands of acres in Adraskan, Herat, have also been destroyed.

Nur Ahmad, a local resident, stated, “Nearly 30 homes in this village were destroyed completely or partially, with four members of one family killed, three of whom have been found.”

Ghor has also experienced both human and material losses. The Taliban’s Ministry of Migration has confirmed that at least two individuals, including one child, have died, and sixteen villages in the districts of Charsada and Marghab have been destroyed. Transportation routes between these two districts are blocked, and 500 families have been displaced.

The Ministry of Migration stated that the displaced are living outdoors in the mountains, urgently needing aid, and further losses are anticipated.

“The flood has taken many people’s homes; God help us, the situation is very bad,” said Gul Ahmad, another affected individual.

“Continuous floods in Uruzgan have destroyed people’s farms and caused significant damages,” a resident of Uruzgan said in a video sent to Amu TV on Sunday, May 5.

Local sources also report that parts of the land in the Farah-Row district of Farah province have been destroyed. The Taliban have not commented on the casualties, damages, or the relief efforts for the victims and refugees affected by the floods in several provinces.

Arbab Halim, a resident of Adraskan, appealed, “We ask the Taliban to take care of the people and the nation so we can find those we’ve lost and address the people’s problems.”

The Taliban’s Ministry of Public Works reports that transportation routes in the Charsada and Marghab districts of Ghor and the main route from Badakhshan to Takhar are closed due to the floods. Similarly, routes from Takhar to Kalafgan, Takhar to Farkhar, and the road to the Mandal district of Nuristan are also closed following rainfall and landslides.