The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
In recent days, northern Afghanistan has been struck by devastating rainfall that has resulted in flash flooding. The most intense rainfall occurred on 10 to 11 May 2024, with a focus on Baghlan Province, and to a lesser extent Takhar Province.
The ECHO Daily Flash of 14 May reported that there have been 330 fatalities recorded to date, 300 of which occurred in Baghlan Province. At least 3,300 houses have been destroyed, with a further 2,000 damaged.
The difficulties that journalists face reporting from Afghanistan means that the flow of information from the area is limited. However, there are some detailed reports of the range of impacts, and some harrowing tales of the event.
One area that has been seriously affected is Burkah (sometimes spelt as Burka), which is located at [36.159, 69.068]. The is a Planet Labs image of the site, collected on 9 May 2024, before the flooding:-
This is the same site a few days later, after the flooding:-
Below is a slider to allow the images to be compared:-
The swathe of flood damage through the agricultural areas and into Burkah itself is clear. This is replicated across the area – further examples are just visible in the top of the image, for example.
The socio-political setting of Afghanistan over decades, and the recent takeover by the Taliban, has meant the population has low resilience to hazards. Graeme Smith, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, has a very interesting tweet that shows the evolving impact of climatic hazards in Afghanistan:-
The linked article provides a fascinating analysis of the challenges that the country is now facing.
Reference
Planet Team (2024). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://www.planet.com/