Floods Devastate Indonesia, Afghanistan, Brazil

Heavy rain brought floods and landslides to Indonesia’s province of West Sumatra, killing at least 28, with four still missing, authorities said on Sunday. The national disaster management agency said in a statement that flooding since Saturday night had brought mud to the Tanah Datar regency, affecting five sub-districts. The agency said its latest assessment showed 84 housing units and 16 bridges were affected by the disaster, adding that heavy equipment had been deployed to speed up the clearing of road access.

In Afghanistan, nearly 315 people were killed and more than 1,600 others injured in devastating flash floods that ripped through multiple provinces in the country on Friday, with authorities declaring a state of emergency. Describing the devastating floods as a major humanitarian emergency, aid agencies have warned of widening havoc. Afghan authorities have reported several people missing after heavy rains on Friday that sent roaring rivers of water and mud crashing through villages and across agricultural land in several provinces, causing damage to healthcare



facilities and vital infrastructure besides wiping out thousands of homes and livestock.

In Brazil too, rain continued to soak waterlogged southern Brazil on Saturday, bringing fresh misery to victims of flooding that has killed 136 people so far. The civil defence agency said heavy rains last week caused rivers in the agricultural state to overflow, leaving 806 injured and 125 missing in addition to those killed.

Of the more than two million people affected by the flooding, more than 537,000 have been forced from their homes with 81,000 in shelters. More than 92,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods, according to the National Confederation of Municipalities.

United Nations experts and the Brazilian government blame climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon for the inundation. New downpours were expected to be heaviest between Sunday and Monday, and state authorities were warning of the risk of further rising waters and landslides.