At least
2,000 people were killed by landslides in northeastern Afghanistanin the worst
natural disaster on record for the war-torn nation, an UN official said.The
accident site in Badakhshan province has been declared a mass grave after the
village of Ab-e-Barak was buried under 40 meters (130 feet) of mud and rocks,
said Governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb. An additional 4,000 people have been
displaced or relocated from villages at risk, according to Ari Gaitanis, a
spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Gaitanis
provided the latest death toll today.
Afghanistan,
with a population of about 31 million, is one of the poorest countries in Asia,
weakened by decades of warfare and ethnic rivalries. The accident comes as the
nation prepares for its first democratic transfer of power since the U.S.
ousted the Taliban in 2001. Results of the first round of elections are due May
14.The landslides were triggered by heavy rains in Badakhshan province
bordering Tajikistan, where melting snow and seasonal showers make the region
vulnerable to such calamities. The toll is more than double that of the worst
natural disaster recorded in Afghanistan in May 1991 when floods killed 728
people, according to the international emergency disaster database of the
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.
Hundreds
of volunteers were at the scene trying to dig out victims using shovels and
other hand tools, according to Adeeb.“We have no modern machinery,” he said.
“It takes months to finish the work by using shovels.” As many as 2,700 people
may be buried there, Adeeb said.
President
Hamid Karzai sent rescue teams, and hundreds of tons of flour, rice and sugar
arrived in the affected area, Wais Barmak, minister of rural rehabilitation and
development, said by phone.
“Just as
the United States has stood with the people of Afghanistan through a difficult
decade, we stand ready to help our Afghan partners as they respond to this
disaster,” U.S. PresidentBarack Obama said yesterday before a press conference
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House. Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh offered help for rescue, relief and rehabilitation, according to
a statement today.
Heavy
rainfall caused floods in Afghanistan’s northern provinces killing more than
100 people last week. More Afghans have been killed through natural disasters
in the past seven days than in all of 2013, according to Mark Bowden, the UN
humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan.Authorities evacuated nearby
settlements following the disaster, which occurred around 1 p.m. local time
yesterday. A number of rescuers who had rushed from adjacent villages were also
reported to be killed in subsequent slides, Gaitanis said.
Sunday is a day of mourning in
Afghanistan for the victims of two landslides that turned a village into a mass
grave last week.TV and radio stations suspended the broadcast of entertainment
programming to commemorate Friday's tragedy.The first landslide, triggered by
heavy rain, swallowed 300 to 400 homes in the Argo district of Badakhshan
province in northeastern Afghanistan, where an estimated 2,700 people lived,
authorities said.
When as
many as 600 people from a nearby village came to help dig people out, another
landslide swept through, burying most, if not all, of the rescuers, according
to provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb.The governor's office said at least
2,000 people died in all.
Efforts
are now focused on about 4,000 survivors and evacuees. United Nations
humanitarian groups are rounding up food, water and medical supplies. A NATO
team is sending a C-130 transport plane from Kabul airport with supplies,
including tents and blankets, officials say.Afghans are also donating to
charities to help the victims. Hamim Jalalzai, an Afghan journalist, said on
Facebook that he was part of a group of people who went from shop to shop in
Kabul, taking up donations.Meteorologists warn that potential rain forecast for
Monday and Tuesday could further hamper rescue efforts and trigger
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai and
pledged to provide an assistance of USD 1 million to the families displaced by
a landslide that entombed a village, killing at least 300 people.Singh also
offered India's condolences to the people of Afghanistan over the loss of lives
in Badakshan landslide, an official statement said.He said India is strongly
committed for the development of Afghanistan and its people.Karzai thanked
Singh and the people of India for their sympathy and assistance.He said that
India has always helped Afghanistan as a close friend and as a brother.
Prof. John Kurakar
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