By Ziba Balkhi
Thousands of people remain without aid and housing in Baghlan province after a flash flood swept through the region earlier this month.
Mina, 24, saw two of her three children drown in their village in Karkar area. She said it feels like a living nightmare.
“My daughter was struggling in the mud. I asked a man who was there to save her, but he said he wouldn’t go because he feared for his own life,” Mina said.
“He said let the flood calm down first, then he would bring her. I wanted to do something to save my daughter, but a woman there held me tightly and said, ‘Don’t throw yourself into the water; it’s suicide.’ She was right. I would have died.”
Mina would later find out that her five-year-old son was swept away and died in the waters also.
“When my father-in-law, he was empty-handed. I asked, ‘What happened to Abubakr?’ He said, ‘The flood took Abubakr away.’”
Every time Mina spoke her son’s name, she hit her head and face in grief. She was still stunned with how quickly it all happened, speaking about the intensity of the floodwaters.
Flash floods crashed through several provinces on May 10 including Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Ghor, Herat, and Samangan, leaving thousands of people dead and injured.
Baghlan province was among the highest for the number of casualties. The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation reported earlier in the month that 315 people died and 1,630 were injured in Baghlan.
It has also devasted homes and the economy with more than 2,600 residential houses destroyed, the ministry said.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the number of victims of the natural disaster may increase.
Pregnant women fending for themselves
Many pregnant women in Baghlan are especially in urgent need of medical care.
“The situation is such that I was bewildered about whom to prioritize with the initial aid I brought, given the dire conditions,” said obstetrician Dr Karima Azam, who traveled to central Baghlan with four medical workers.
“Everyone’s blood pressure had dropped, and they were feverish, some still in extreme fear.
“After the flood, no one is in a good mental or emotional state. Everyone is needing psychological support. Particularly pregnant women because if they’re not treated, their poor mental state and anxiety could result in the loss of their babies.”
Dr Azam said before the arrival of her team, there were no female doctors in the area.
“Children are suffering from severe diarrhea, and if healthcare services are not provided to them, the consequences will be dire. There are no services – no doctors, nurses, or midwives. A nurse has set up a mobile clinic, but it only provides services until noon.”
More widespread is the lack of access to drinking water and food, along with medicine and treatment.
“The situation of the people is much worse than what the authorities say. People are completely homeless. Our truckload of food supplies was overwhelmed by everyone,” she said.
“Whenever they saw a bottle of water in our hands, they would ask for water. Everyone was thirsty and hungry. The situation was very dire.”
Overwhelming stench of animal carcasses decomposing
Local Baghlan journalist Nazifa* spent several days in the flood-affected areas.
She reported carcasses of drowned animals were still out in the open at least 10 days after the waters had receded and there was a pervasive stench of their decomposition in the area.
“When we go to Baghlan and its villages, the stench is so overwhelming that you count the moments until you can leave the area,” Nazifa said.
“There are no municipal services to bury the livestock.”
One pregnant woman Nazifa met appeared to have gone into labor and was in pain for days but was unable to deliver her baby.
“Pregnant women in their final month are in pain, but there was no road access to take them to the hospital. With all the houses destroyed, there are no carpets, mattresses, or pillows,” she said.
“People don’t have shoes or clothes to wear. Half of the bodies of children and women are covered in mud and filth. In the days I was in the area, I saw charity organizations only provide a barrel of drinking water. The weather is extremely hot, and people desperately need more drinking water.”
Family swept away during Friday excursion
Spozhmai, 20, said her family had travelled to central Baghlan’s Darwazakan area for an excursion when the flood swiftly struck, killing six family members – her mother, two sisters, two aunts, and a cousin.
“We had gone for an outing and were intending to head home when suddenly my cousin said, ‘Come up, there’s a flood coming.’ My mother and sister went towards the mountain, but they couldn’t make it in time,” she said.
“My uncle’s wife and one of her children was swept away. We made great efforts to rescue them, but it was impossible. In a blink of an eye, I could no longer see my mother, nor my uncle’s wife, nor my sister. The flood had taken them all.”
She said other people later found the bodies of four of them, including her mother, two sisters, and her uncle’s wife, who was six months pregnant.
Mud still clinging to clothes almost two weeks later
The Baghlan-e-Markazi and Barka districts of the province sustained the most damage with most residents left homeless.
In the videos and images seen by Rukhshana Media, the flood swept away entire houses and everything inside.
Most people are spending their days and nights in the mountains, plains, graveyards, or atop the ruins left by the flood, without any facilities.
Hamida, 25, is expecting her first child but saw lost everything in Baghlan-e-Markazi district.
Ten days after the May 10 flood, she was still wearing the same clothes covered in mud up to her waist.
“When the flood came, I was asleep. My neighbor banged on the door, telling us to get out because the flood had come. As soon as I stepped outside, the flood hit,” she said.
Hamida only just survived the flood, but now she’s concerned for the health of her unborn child.
“I’m six months pregnant, and my heart and back are in a lot of pain. Sometimes I feel severe pain because I’m very weak and feeble, and my blood pressure has dropped.
“After the flood, I haven’t had any check-ups because there’s no midwife around here. The roads are destroyed, and it’s very difficult to go to the central clinic.”
Before the flood, Hamida had been advised during a doctor visit to drink plenty of water for the sake of her growing baby. But since the flood she has no access to clean water.
“I’ve been thirsty since morning. There’s no water to drink. I urge the authorities to help us, and provide shelter, food, and medicine. Our situation is very desperate,” she said.
Camps without shelter in rising heat
Akram, 14m, in Baghlan’s Karkar district had set up a camp without any shelter in a graveyard after the family home was destroyed.
“The flood destroyed our house, my grandmother’s house, and my aunt’s house. We’re living in a graveyard. There’s no food to eat, no carpet or mattress to sleep on. There’s not even water to drink, and the weather is very hot,” he said.
Baghlan’s Gozargah-e-Noor district was also hit hard with roads rendered impassable, and no aid reaching its residents.
Rohullah Rohani said via phone that people in his district had been spending nights in the mountains in the open air without tents, food, and medicine.
“Due to the blocked roads and the lack of health facilities at the checkpoint, people are in a very bad situation,” he said.
He feared the situation would become catastrophic with many struggling for any clean water.
“People are living in muddy clothes, shoes, and blankets. If a medical team does not come to this district and sufficient medicine is not provided, half of the people, including children and women, will suffer further with the spread various diseases,” he said.
