KABUL - Relief aid has been distributed to four-fifths of the people affected by this year’s flash floods that killed hundreds of people across Afghanistan, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“As of 22 May, around 80 per cent of all affected families have been assisted with relief distributions,” the UN agency stated in its latest report on the relief efforts. “The focus of immediate relief efforts going forward continues to be clean water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases and planning the rehabilitation and rebuilding of damaged and destroyed homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.”

The UN humanitarian coordination agency said the number of people affected by the floods is about 125,000 in 27 of the country’s 34 provinces, with around 18,000 families affected overall by the floods and landslides. It added that sufficient relief stocks remain in country for the aid response.

According to OCHA, Afghanistan is extremely susceptible to recurring natural disasters, due to its geographical location and years of environmental degradation. The country regularly experiences flooding, earthquakes, avalanches, landslides and drought, in addition to other man-made disasters resulting in the frequent loss of lives, livelihoods and property; contributing to high levels of poverty across the country.

A number of UN humanitarian agencies have been providing critical assistance to the victims of the flash floods and landslides, which include a deadly landslide in Abi-Barik village, in north-eastern Badakhshan province, on 2 May, which killed hundreds.

Last week, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted mental health services and gender-sensitive relief, among its key concerns, as relief efforts continuing in aid of the Badakhshan victims.

In early May, following a visit to the province, two senior UN humanitarian officials highlighted the longer-term needs of people displaced by natural disasters in the country as well as the need for long-term preventive measures.