Eight children dead, more missing as flooding destroys Afghan homes

Agencies | Logar                                                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

At least eight children were killed in floods that swept away houses in central and eastern Afghanistan this week, the United Nations' children's agency said on Tuesday, adding that more children were missing.

The United Nations is deploying response teams in eastern Afghanistan to provide aid to thousands of people who lost homes, livestock and crops in severe flash flooding that has hit the country since last week, Reuters reported.

UNICEF's spokesperson in Afghanistan, Samantha Mort, said the child death toll could rise, and more children were missing and injured in the chaos wrecked by the floods.

Taliban administration disaster authorities have said at least 20 people were killed and appealed to the international community for help.

Afghanistan has been reeling from natural disasters this year, including a drought and a massive earthquake that killed over 1,000 people in June, with the nation largely cut off from the international financial system since the Taliban took over a year ago.

In rural areas, villages have been destroyed and thousands have lost their livestock and crops, exacerbating the country's hunger crisis. UNICEF aid workers said they were concerned over the risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera due to contaminated drinking water.

In the eastern city of Jalalabad, central urban areas were not spared destruction, UNICEF aid workers said. Water up to two metres high knocked down walls, destroyed belongings and left a thick layer of mud throughout inundated neighbourhoods.