KABUL - Relief aid provided by various United Nations agencies and Afghan partners has started to reach the nearly 4,000 families affected by last week’s flooding in eastern Afghanistan.

“Hopefully, we will not have a big gap,” Said Alam Khan of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Nangarhar provincial capital of Jalalabad said.

The distribution of assistance by Afghan government officials follows a detailed assessment of damage caused in three eastern provinces – Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman – and airlift and boat rescue of hundreds of people stranded in waterlogged homes.

According to the assessment completed this weekend by various Government and aid agencies, about 2,500 homes were completely destroyed, thousands of livestock lost and hectares of land washed away, including much needed bridges and canals.

“We have discussed about the resources available (with various UN agencies) and they are fairly sufficient,” Khan added.

Relief aid containing mostly non-food items such as tarpaulins, tents, blankets and kitchen kits provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) started reaching the affected population yesterday, according to the Jalalabad office of OCHA.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has committed to providing food for three months to the affected families in Nangarhar and Laghman provinces, while the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is ready to distribute wheat seeds as part of a post-disaster package.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) funded by the International Committee of the Red Cross is providing all relief aid to the flood victims in the third province, Kunar.

Local Government bodies such as the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) and the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (RRD) helped finalize the needs assessment and assisted with distribution of aid, with support from the UN agencies, ARCS and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the International Rescue Committee.

The Government of Afghanistan distributed Afs 100,000 (US$ 2,000) to the next of kin of nine people killed in Laghman province.

At least 15 other people were killed in neighbouring areas.

Afghan National Army helicopters rescued hundreds of people in Behsud district of Nangarhar province and Sarkano district of Kunar.

By Tilak Pokharel, UNAMA