HERAT: Flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 17 people in western Afghanistan, destroying homes and sweeping through makeshift shelters that housed displaced families, a government official said on Saturday.
Two days of flooding that started on Thursday killed 12 people in Jawzjan and two in Badghis, provinces that border Turkmenistan, said Hasibullah Shir Khani, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority.
Two others were killed in Herat and another in Sar-e Pul province, he added.
More than 500 houses were destroyed.
Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced in western Afghanistan from last year’s severe drought, adding further woes to the already desperate situation.
Children were visibly seen wading through muddy, knee-deep floodwaters that flowed through tent camps for displaced people after the rain stopped.
Floods have destroyed hundreds of homes, some historic sites, thousands of acres of farmland, bridges and highways, said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for Herat province.
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