Over 135 Deaths In Afghanistan And Pakistan As Flooding Ravages Regions

Youngsters wade through a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Youngsters wade through a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country’s southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

OAN’s James Meyers
2:20 PM – Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Heavy rainfall has crushed Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past few days, killing over 135 people across the neighboring countries, according to authorities. 

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Almost 70 people have been killed in the last five days by consistent rainfall that is ravaging Afghanistan, according to the government’s disaster management department. 

Meanwhile, a number close to that was reported Wednesday out of Pakistan, with footage showing crowds of pedestrians earlier in the week navigating through deep waters that flooded public streets and bridges. 

Officials said 65 people have been killed in Pakistan after being hammered by torrential spring downpours, in which rain fell at nearly twice the historical average rate. 

Disaster Management Spokesman Janan Sayeq said, “approximately 70 people lost their lives” as a result of the rain between Saturday and Wednesday. He also mentioned that 56 others have been injured as well, while more than 2,600 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and 95,000 acres of farmland wiped away.

Sayeq also said that the fatalities were due to roof collapses resulting from the deluges. 

Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told AP NEWS that they are seeing a significant increase in heavier rain.

“This month, so far there has been 353% more rainfall than normal in Balochistan,” Babar said. “Overall, rainfall has been 99% higher than the average across Pakistan, and it shows climate change has already happened in our country.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has been familiar with battling conflicts and natural disasters. Last year alone, over 150 people died from a brutal winter followed by dozens of deaths due to a number of flash floods. 

Additionally, the Middle Eastern country has fallen into an economic and humanitarian crisis ever since the Taliban took over in August 2021, blocking much of the aid coming into the region.

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