Situation Update
Since late April 2014, heavy rain has caused floods in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. On 2 May 2014, a massive landslide triggered by the heavy rains buried a village in northern Afghanistan when a mountain side collapsed on the village of Hargu, Agro District, Badakshan Province.
14 northern provinces and 90, 000 people have been affected by the floods. 20,000 people have been displaced. So far, 419 people have been reported dead, out of whom 256 as a result of the landslide in Argo district. More rain and possible flooding in many parts of northern Afghanistan is forecasted for coming days which may hamper relief efforts, casualties and the number of affected is expected to go up.
Red Cross Actions
Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) has been the first responders on the ground in many of the affected areas. In summary, ARCS has so far:
Mobilised 150 staff and volunteers trained with community-based health and first aid, as first responders in the affected areas;
Deployed five Mobile Health Teams (MHT); three to the flooded northern provinces of Jawzjan, Faryadand Sari Pul and two to Badakhshan province where the landslide occurred on 2 May. Each MHT has four members - a doctor, pharmacist, nurse/vaccinator and driver;
Distributed food and Non food relief items (e.g., tents, blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, tarpaulins, jerry cans and mattresses) to more than 500 families;
Committed an initial 700 tents to the operation that will be dispatched from regional and national stocks;
Two support teams from ARCS national headquarters in Kabul is currently deployed to reinforce its branches on response and assessment.
While logistics is proved to be challenging in ensuring relief support could reach the north part of the country in time, ARCS strong network of volunteers enabled them to face the challenges. International Red Cross is working closely with ARCS to provide technical support on logistics, as well providing approximately HKD 2.5 million from its disaster response emergency fund to support ARCS in replenishing the stocks used in the current response and the make sure further assistance could be immediately available if required for the rest of the rainy season.So far no further international assistance is requested, the situation will be continuously monitored and analyse to define further actions towards assisting the affected people in the area.
Hong Kong Red Cross Actions
In coordination with the International Red Cross, the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) is closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan.
General Enquiry
Please call 2802-0016, fax to 2802-0017 or email to relief@redcross.org.hk.
