2020 Afghanistan flood
[2] The Ministry of Disaster Management also reported some casualties and destruction of infrastructure in the provinces of Kapisa, Maidan Wardak, Nangarhar, Panjshir, and Paktia.
The heavy rains are crucial for agriculture in the region, but also bring flash floods and subsequent mudslides which kill hundreds of people and cause billions of dollars in damage every year.
[5] The damage and destruction of water irrigation systems, hydro-power units, roads, buildings, hundreds of acres of crops, and the death of more than 1,200 livestock were also reported.
By the beginning of April, 11 deaths, 15 wounded individuals, 288 destroyed homes and an additional 400 damaged properties were reported in the foregoing provinces.
[10] The vast majority of displaced families were typically sheltered by other relatives or nearby communities while they waited for the rain, and subsequent floods or landslides, to subside.
[13] It is authorized as the central agency for all disaster-related interventions in the country, with Directorates in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan implementing "government-led federal and provincial coordination mechanisms".
[5] ANDMA, with the collaboration of Joint Assessment Teams, confirmed 1,876 families in need of humanitarian assistance in the provinces of Parwan, Wardak, Kapisa, Logar, Kabul, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman, and Nangarhar.
[5] With Parwan being the most severely impacted province with 500 damaged homes and 300-400 families displaced,[15] the Afghan Ministry of Defense deployed its army to clear roads and carry out rescue operations.
[16] According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the international community recognizes that Afghanistan is at a high risk of natural disasters and associated human suffering.
By 8 September 2020, OCHA reported that the humanitarian actors had distributed non-food items (NFIs), tents, emergency shelters, cash for food and hygiene kits to 892 families.
[25] The context of the flash flood, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with civil conflict created an environment for further potential mortality and morbidity implications.
[33] Natural (and human-impacted) disasters increase the percentages of premature “Years of Life Lost”, even when death was not the initial short-term impact.
Providing care for the ill presents challenges in the remote provinces under normal circumstances, as the world bank notes clinics are understaffed and resources are scarce.
The lack of a stable living environment and deaths associated with building collapses due to flash flooding took an additional emotional toll on a population already ravaged by both uncontrolled COVID-19 outbreaks and war.
[41] In addition, the natural and human-created causes that exacerbate the impact of such floods have also been known since at least 2011, when the 'Afghanistan Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP) for Disaster Risk Reduction: Towards Peace and Stable Development' was published.
[44] According to World Bank estimates, the projects would have an anticipated annual return of US$1Bn, making the payback period for the infrastructure investment 15 years.
[44][45][46] Measures that could reduce the likelihood or severity of flooding include limiting land expansion for agriculture and introducing more localized, targeted water management infrastructure.
