Shopkeeper Nazer Mohammad rushed home upon learning of flash floods hitting the outskirts of a provincial capital in northern Afghanistan. To his shock, he found everything destroyed, including his family of five.
Describing the devastation, Mohammad, 48, shared, "Everything happened suddenly. I came home, but there was no home, only mud and water covering the neighborhood." He recounted burying his wife and two sons, aged 15 and 8, but remains hopeful of finding his two daughters, aged around 6 and 11, who are still missing.
The U.N. food agency estimates that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have claimed more than 300 lives and destroyed thousands of houses, with the worst impact felt in the northern province of Baghlan. Mohammad discovered the bodies of his wife and two sons on the outskirts of Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, late Friday night.
"I hope someone has found my daughters alive," he expressed, holding back tears. "Just in the blink of an eye, I lost everything: family, home, belongings, now nothing is left to me."
Among the at least 240 people who lost their lives, 51 were children, according to UNICEF. Various international aid groups are dispatching relief teams, medicines, blankets, and other supplies. The World Health Organization has already delivered 7 tons of medicines and emergency kits.
Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children, lamented, "Lives and livelihoods have been washed away. The flash floods tore through villages, sweeping away homes and killing livestock. Children have lost everything. Families who are still reeling from the economic impacts of three years of drought urgently need assistance."
He emphasized that Afghanistan, being ill-equipped to cope with climate change patterns, particularly heavier seasonal rains, requires aid from the international community. April witnessed heavy rains and flash floods claiming at least 70 lives and destroying about 2,000 homes, three mosques, and four schools.