MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Standing in front of his destroyed mud-house after a flood struck his village in east Afghanistan early Sunday, Nooruding was mourning his deceased family members.
"We have 21 martyrs, two others from our neighbors. In total, we have 23 martyrs, 21 from my family," Noorudin said.
Located in the mountainous Jalrez district of eastern Wardak province, the flood-affected Takana village experienced a destructive flash flood at midnight, which changed the topography of the area as hundreds of houses, gardens and farmlands were destroyed or turned into mud.
"It was 1:30 a.m. when lightning and thunder shocked the area. We came out and some went to the roof of the house and some others were inside the yard. We asked them to climb up to the roof, but they ignored us and instead went towards the house gate," the dejected man recalled.
"Suddenly, the flood found its way to our house and caused catastrophe. Five to six children and women were in the yard of the house. From 2:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., we were busy discovering the martyred persons from the flood mud and we used an excavator to find two bodies," he told Xinhua.
The flash flood added insult to injury for Noorudin's family, who have been suffering from economic hardship for years in the war-torn country.
"We need assistance to reconstruct our house. The village has been destroyed and we have no economy," he said.
The flood also proved a nightmare to another villager Abdul Rauf. He recalled that there was no rain, but suddenly a terrifying big bang shocked everyone at midnight and saw a heavy flood enter the house and smash everything within minutes.
"A total of 25 persons used to live in an eight-room house but the flood wreaked havoc," Rauf told Xinhua inside his destroyed house.
Rauf, whose brother was injured in the flood, said that the natural disaster devoured his animals and farmlands.
"If we want to build such a house, we need 2 million afghanis (about 23,000 U.S. dollars)," Rauf said.
The destructive floods, according to the provincial director for Natural Disaster Management Authority Mawlawi Faizullah Jalali Stanikzai, have claimed 32 lives so far and partially damaged or utterly destroyed 500 houses in five districts, including Takana village in Jalrez.
"The government has provided 30 tents and 13 types of food and non-food items to the affected families, besides breakfast and lunch," Stanikzai told Xinhua in Takana village.
"I am also in contact with the local and foreign aid agencies and trying to get assistance," he said.
Zukrullah, an elderly Takana villager, recovered 21 bodies and was trying to recover the remaining two, He said with regret that he had buried 21 victims including children, men and women, adding that the affected people are too poor to have plain bread.
"I hope that the international relief agencies will help people, and help build accommodation, build water dams and water canals as the people are vulnerable to natural disasters," Zukrullah said.
