Death toll doubles to 40 from Afghan floods: U.N.

By Rod Nickel

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Flash floods in southern Afghanistan from heavy rains last week have killed more than 40 people, double an earlier estimated toll, a U.N. agency that is coordinating relief efforts said.

The floods that started on Friday destroyed 1,300 homes and damaged 2,500 across nine provinces, leaving many people desperate for shelter, food and clothing, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement late on Tuesday, citing government estimates.

Hundreds of people were injured or missing, the agency said, and some 5,000 were displaced in Kandahar province alone, according to the Afghan government's disaster management authority.

In total, floods affected at least 15,300 people in Kandahar province, which bore the brunt of damage, the OCHA said.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, which is one of several organizations providing aid, pegged the death toll slightly lower at 32. Supplies of tents and winter clothes were already depleted, said the council's emergency manager, Wilberforce Musombi.

The heavy rains may be helpful later to farmers, many of whom could not plant crops last year due to a severe drought.