AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Early monsoon rains bring death and floods

ISLAMABAD, 10 July 2003 (IRIN) - Summer rains have hit an unprepared Afghanistan, causing an estimated 100 deaths, while in Pakistan they have inflicted extensive damage on buildings and crops. Salim Bahramand, head of international relations with the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), told IRIN from the capital, Kabul, on Thursday that initial estimates showed dozens had been killed or were missing and presumed dead. The final toll has not yet been made official, but the ARCS estimates that deaths across the country from flooding may have topped 100. The most severely affected provinces, according to Bahramand, are Panjshir Valley in the central Kapisa province, and the central Lowgar and southeastern Paktia provinces. "Worst hit are Lowgar and Panjshir where many people died in the past week. Elsewhere, buildings and fields were destroyed," he said. Bahramand said a survey team had been sent to the affected areas to assess the need for relief. "We are seeking help from the [International] Federation [of Red Cross and Crescent Societies], but we haven't actually distributed anything yet," he said. He said although the effects were devastating, this year's rains were not unusual. "Compared to last year, it is no worse," Bahramand said. The governor of the southeastern Khowst province agreed that this was a long-term problem. "This also happened last year and nobody helped us. This time I hope international organisations will help us," Hakim Taniwal told IRIN. The governor said: "I have heard reports of about 15 people missing to date (in Khowst) and a few are confirmed dead. This is very heavy rain and floods, some fields are washed away." Taniwal said he would ask Kabul for help, even though the government of Afghanistan was unable to provide resources for flood-affected areas. "Th central government says they will try to help, but they are not in a position to," he said. "We need people to distribute food, construct houses and also plant new crops," he said. Anjum Bari of Pakistan's Meteorological Office, said it was hard to assess weather conditions in neighbouring Afghanistan because little meteorological data is gathered and assessed in the war-torn nation. "Data is hard to acquire because the network is not set up yet, but we can make some readings on the edge of our area." During the past week, Pakistan also suffered flooding, but no deaths have been officially confirmed. However, local media reported three people killed by floods in the southern province of Sindh. The Red Crescent said the situation was not severe enough for it to mobilise its resources in Pakistan at this stage. "Power is going down, many roads are under water, telephone lines are disrupted, but as yet no casualties are reported so it's not a case of rescuing people," said Sarah Pervez, information officer at the Pakistani Red Crescent Society. Local news reports said this week's strong storms had led to 200 villages being evacuated in Sindh's coastal area of Badin, where up to 50,000 acres of arable land and 400 houses were damaged. Unseasonably heavy rains also affected other areas of Sindh and Baluchistan province. Anjum Bari of Pakistan's Meteorological Office said although the rains had brought devastating flood damage in some areas, they brought relief to areas badly affected by drought. "Actually these have been good rains for agriculture, very, very helpful and good rains." He said Baluchistan, Southern Punjab in eastern Pakistan, and Sindh were affected by drought and "this rain really is welcome there".