Afghanistan floods: Hamid Karzai urges world organisations to provide aid to affected families

Kabul [Afghanistan], May 12 : Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai offered condolences to the families of the victims of the recent floods in Afghanistan and called on global aid agencies and merchants to come forward to help the affected families, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.
He expressed sadness that the floods in Baghlan and other provinces of Afghanistan have caused personal and financial losses to many people.
In a post on X, Karzai stated, "It is very sad that floods in Baghlan and other provinces of the country have caused personal and financial losses to many of our citizens. I offer my condolences to the families of the victims and I hope that the aid agencies and national traders will help the affected families."
Afghanistan's former head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, offered condolences to the families of the flood victims, as per the Khaama Press report. He said, "We expect aid organisations to expedite assistance to the affected and strive to provide them with the necessary essentials."
Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah's statements came as more than 300 people have been killed due to the ongoing floods in the provinces of Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Faryab, Badghis, Herat, Ghor, and Kandahar, according to Khaama Press report.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid called for people's help for the flood victims in Balkh, Badakhshan, Ghor, and Herat provinces of Afghanistan.
On May 11, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has called for immediate aid for flood victims in Afghanistan.
Bennett called recent floods in Afghanistan, including in Baghlan where many lives were lost, a stark reminder of Afghanistan's vulnerability to climate crises.
In a post on X, Richard Bennett stated, "Recent floods in Afghanistan including Baghlan which claimed many lives, are a stark reminder of Afghanistan's vulnerability to the climate crisis & both immediate aid and long term planning by the Taliban & international actors are needed. Condolences to the families of victims."
The death toll from flooding in Afghanistan has crossed 300, said the World Food Programme on Sunday, according to CNN report. Resulting in a massive humanitarian crisis, the floods have wreaked havoc in the Afghan provinces of Badakhshan, Ghor, Baghlan, and Herat. Due to flooding, nearly 2,000 homes have been damaged, and widespread destruction has taken place in the provinces.
"Flash floods ravage Afghanistan, killing more than 300 people in Baghlan and destroying more than 1000 houses," the WFP said in a post on X."This has been one of many floods over the last few weeks, due to unusually heavy rainfall. WFP is now distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors," it added.
Following the deadly floods in four districts of Baghlan, at least 130 people have died, and approximately 100 others have been injured. Moreover, local officials in Baghlan Province stated that the death toll may rise even further.According to officials, more than a thousand residential homes, thousands of hectares of agricultural land, and hundreds of heads of livestock have also been lost in the floods, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, those who lost relatives in the floods are calling on the interim government and both domestic and international organizations to address the challenges and rescue those who are trapped. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left stranded without access to services, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which is organising its emergency response to the flooding that affects seven provinces.
Salma Ben Aissa, director of IRC Afghanistan, stated, "These latest floods have caused a major humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, which is still reeling from a string of earthquakes at the beginning of this year as well as severe flooding in March," according to CNN. She said, "Livelihoods have been decimated and entire families have been lost in communities."