Scores killed in northern Afghanistan floods

Flooding in a remote part of northern Afghanistan has claimed more than 70 lives and forced thousands to flee their homes, a provincial official has said.

Massoud Kozad, director of Baghlan Provincial Natural Disaster Management Authority, said at least 74 people are understood to have died and 800 houses have been destroyed.

A police official earlier put the death toll at 54, but indicated it could reach 100, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The disaster in Guzirga i-Nur district, around 140km north of the provincial capital Puli Khumri, is the latest in a string of deadly flash floods, landslides and avalanches in Afghanistan’s rugged northern mountains. 

Jawed Basharat, the spokesman for the Baghlan provincial police, said they were aware of the flooding but that it would take eight to nine hours for them to reach the mountainous area.

The Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority has stockpiles of food and other supplies in Baghlan province and has started the process of shipping them to the affected area, said a spokesperson.

A delegation has also been sent to the affected villages to assess needs.

In April, flash floods killed more than 180 people in Jawzgan province, also in northern Afghanistan.