51 die in Afghanistan rainstorms
Pastor Dale Morgan
51 die in Afghanistan rainstorms*
POSTED: 0327 GMT (1127 HKT), April 1, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Flooding and an avalanche have killed at
least 51 people and destroyed hundreds of homes over the last 11 days
following warm weather and heavy spring rains across much of
Afghanistan, officials said.
The governor of the central Daykundi province said all the province's
districts are flooded after heavy hail and rainstorms on Thursday and
Friday, and that the region was struck by an avalanche on Saturday.
In total, 31 people have died in the province from the avalanche and
flooding over the last 10 days, provincial Gov. Sultan Ali Uruzgani said
late Sunday.
"All the roads are blocked, and aid can only be delivered by
helicopter," he said.
About 300 people are shoveling snow to clear a road between Daykundi and
neighboring Bamiyan province that was buried under 35 meters (115 feet)
of snow after the avalanche, he said.
In Ashtarlai and Khidir districts, a total of 781 homes were destroyed
and 4,200 cattle were killed by the flooding, Uruzgani said.
Floodwaters killed eight people in Parwan, north of Kabul, where
officials are using old wrecked tanks -- the debris from decades of war
-- to shore up the banks of the swollen Parwan river, said provincial
Gov. Abdul Jaber Taqwa.
Thousands of cars are stranded in areas where an avalanche has blocked
at least 3 kilometers (2 miles) of roads near the Salang Pass, Taqwa said.
In eastern Nangarhar, five people were killed in floods, including three
children, and dozens of people have been displaced after their homes
were destroyed in Jalalabad city, said Ghafor Khan, spokesman for the
provincial police chief.
In western Herat, seven people were killed, including two children, said
Noor Khan Nekzad, spokesperson for the provincial police chief.
About 1,500 sheep were swept away by floodwaters in northwestern Faryab
province, while several houses were damaged in the capital, Kabul.
In eastern Khost, a hail storm injured 50 children, most of whom were
collecting wood and herding sheep, said provincial police chief Gen.
Mohammad Ayub.
Afghanistan has endured about a decade of drought, and residents say
that this year's spring rains are heavier than they've seen in years.