RSOE EDIS: Afghanistan - Flash Flood - 2010.02.08

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

2010-02-08 14:46:16 - Flash Flood - Afghanistan EDIS CODE: FF-20100208-24848-AFG Date & Time: 2010-02-08 14:46:16 [UTC] Area: Afghanistan, Province of Kandahar, District of Shah Wali Kot, '!!! WARNING !!! Number of death person(s): 6 Missing person(s): 10 Damage level: Heavy (Level 3) Not confirmed information! Description: Torrential rain in southern Afghanistan has claimed at least six lives and left thousands homeless. Two cars travelling through the district of Shah Wali Kot were caught in floodwaters and swept away, a spokesman for Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa said Monday. Zalmai Ayubi said that authorities recovered six bodies but 10 people were still missing along with both vehicles. "According to information, they were driving their cars and they were unmoving (when they were caught in the floodwaters)," he said. "And this morning, six bodies we've found and the cars up to now have not been found. They're gone." The heavy rain also displaced as many as 3,500 people, mostly nomads known as Kuchis, who live rural districts outside Kandahar city, Ayubi added. Most Kuchis are part of the Pashtun tribe that dominates southern Afghanistan. There are around three million Kuchis across the country, and though they live a nomadic lifestyle, they are well connected and news travels quickly among distant relations. In recent years, natural disasters such as flood and drought in southern Afghanistan have displaced more than 100,000 of the nomads. Meanwhile, Ayubi said Afghan National Army helicopters had to be called in to rescue some 250 people from rising floodwaters in a village in the Panjwaii district, to the south of Kandahar city. "This village was surrounded by water," he said. Those people have been evacuated to dry land and authorities are providing them with food, shelter and medical care, Ayubi added. The downpour had finally let up Monday afternoon after two days of heavy rain and thunderstorms. But the weather is expected to remain cold, at times below the freezing mark, for the next few days. Posted:2010-02-08 14:46:16 [UTC] Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu