KABUL, 20 February 2008 (IRIN) - As temperatures gradually rise towards the end of a harsh winter in Afghanistan, concerns are mounting that thawing snows and spring rain will threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of Afghans, aid workers and government officials warn.

At least 21 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are considered "vulnerable" to seasonal floods, which usually start in March and last until May, according to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD).

Flooding and landslides killed dozens of people and damaged thousands of houses in different parts of the country in 2007, according to Afghanistan's National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA).

A rapid change in weather conditions may cause severe flooding even worse than last year because of the recent heavy snow in many parts of the country, experts say.

The Afghan government and UN agencies have started work on a number of preparatory measures to protect and assist people.

Gabion boxes

"This [flooding] is an issue that the government of Afghanistan and UN agencies take extremely seriously. Every effort that can be made to prevent loss of life will be made," Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told IRIN in Kabul.

To protect rural communities considered exposed to flood risks, 62,500 gabion boxes will be sent to 21 provinces, of which 6,500 have already reached their destination, the MRRD said in a statement. Gabions are cages, cylinders, boxes or "mattresses", (often made of heavy-duty wire mesh or netting) filled with earth or sand that are commonly used to stabilise shores against erosion.

Gabion boxes will be used to create resistance walls across and/or near to riverbanks and other risky locations to prevent flooding. They will be sent by trucks to provinces and filled with earth or sand on site, officials said.

Pre-positioning of supplies

Food and non-food aid items will also be stocked in several vulnerable locations which will be ready for urgent distribution should the need arise, Rick Corsino, the World Food Programme (WFP) representative in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kabul on 19 February.

Winter problems this year had contributed to a huge increase in staple food prices, which according to WFP, had pushed over 2.5 million Afghans into "high risk food insecurity".

The Ministry of Public Health said adequate measures would be taken to prevent any outbreak of seasonal diseases such as diarrhoea during the flood season.

Despite preparations by aid agencies and the Afghan government to mitigate the impacts of winter disasters, over 1,000 people died due to cold weather and diseases in the past three months, ANDMA's statistics indicate.

Officials said there was uncertainty about the severity, timing and exact location of spring floods, which complicated their preparation efforts. "The unfortunate reality is that with natural disasters you cannot offer any guarantees," said Aleem Siddique of UNAMA.

"However, plans are well under way and every effort that can be made will be looked at," he said.

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