21 July 2010 - Afghan authorities, United Nations agencies and partners in the eastern Nangarhar Province are coordinating assistance for more than 100 people affected this morning by flash flooding caused by heavy rains.

The flooding wiped away mud homes, carried off cattle and covered roads. At least one person is reported dead.

Deputy Governor Mohamad Alam Ishaqzai convened a meeting of the humanitarian agencies in order to coordinate the rescue and relief efforts in Jalalabad, Surkhrod, Khogiyani and Chaprahar Districts of Nangarhar Province, as well as Dawlatshah District of neighbouring Laghman Province.
 
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has committed food items for three months for the affected populations.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has mobilized its medical teams to provide emergency health services.

“The humanitarian actors are currently monitoring the situation,” said Kenneth Baato Rogers of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Afffairs (OCHA) in Jalalabad.

Other departments and agencies involved include the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS).

By Tilak Pokharel, UNAMA