The current rainfall in Afghanistan has proved to be a curse in disguise of blessing. It is believed that the countries and the people with limited resources and unpreparedness seem to suffer more than expected when they face any disaster. Same is the case with Afghanistan; floods resulting from heavy rainfall in certain parts of the country have taken valuable lives that could be saved. As, there is no effective mechanism to respond to the emergencies in most of the remote areas of the country, the disasters have proved to be gigantic and the poor people have suffered misery and agony.
According to Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) over the past three days 12 provinces suffered heavy flooding, leaving in the wake a number of villages facing destruction and loss. Parwan, Kapisa, Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Jowzjan, Panjsher, Nuristan, Maidan Wardak, Bamyan and Paktika provinces have all seen heavy rain and flash floods over the past week. The flooding has left two people killed and more than 2,500 families suffered major property damage and losses.
“Many families have suffered losses in the floods, and the aid we had in provincial offices we have sent to the effected families,” ANDMA head Mohammad Aslam Sias said on Tuesday, July 28. “According to our reports, the rain will continue for the coming days too. The potential floods will threaten a number of houses.”
Natural disasters are really accidental and it is not in the control of the authorities to stop them, but there can be measures carried out before the incidents take place and after them. However, the resources that are available at the disposal of the authorities and people in the remote areas are very much limited and do not help at all in dealing with the serious disasters. As MP Ghulam Hussain Nasiri has observed, “The main serious problem is that there is no proper management and people do not know about vulnerable areas and this is a serious danger for village families.”
The government really requires being ready for such situations and at present when the wave of torrential rainfall is not slowing, the readiness has to be further improved.
It is really tragic in Afghanistan that common Afghan people have not only been victimized by the wars and conflicts but natural disasters have also made their lives fragile. Whether it is flood or famine or even earthquake, the severest of the shocks shake the existence of the poor and destitute. They are the most effected, in two different ways. First, they do not possess a strong and reliable shelter and other facilities that can safeguard them against the natural disasters, which make them easy victims. Second, the facilities that should be there after the disaster to minimize the level of destruction, never reach them, as they are at the remotest of the areas.
Leave the disaster aside, even when there are severe weather conditions, which cannot be even termed as disasters; the loss of life and property incurred by the poor Afghans is really immense. The example of the winter season, in this regard, can be mentioned here. The severe cold weather makes many poor people in Afghanistan sick and many others to breathe their last.
As the people in the affected areas, because of their wretched and torn shelters and no fuel or wood to burn, are being victimized, there is no support from the relevant officials to provide them the facilities to fight against the death. The result is nothing except misery. And when the severe cold weather turns into disasters in the form of avalanches and landslides in some parts of country, the incapacity of the government to help its people out of the disaster is exposed to a large extent. The lethargic response does no good to the people and by the time it is reaches to the people, it is already very late.
There are many lives that can be saved through proper and timely efforts. Moreover, there are many other areas as well that are necessary to be given proper attention by the government so that such disasters and incidents should be properly handled. Among them making a very well-equipped and properly trained disaster management unit is the most important one. At the same time making the different parts of country accessible through proper roads is also an important one. Many places happen to be in the remotest of the areas, where the rescue teams and equipment take a very lengthy time to reach as there are no proper roads.
Though security has been the most dominant issue in Afghanistan, there are many other issues as well that kill more people than the lack of security. The proper attention of the government in that regard and its services can save many lives. So, government must pay due consideration and concentration in such areas, as well. The lives of the people must be considered the most value able asset and every possible effort should be made to protect them.