“On 8 April, an MSF team headed to Golestan, with the aim of visiting the province’s three worst-hit cities: Gonbad-e Kavus, Aq Qala and Gomishan.
The roads we drove along were mostly hidden under the floodwaters, so it was difficult to distinguish between roads, rivers and fields. The floods have destroyed people’s houses, livestock and fields, as well as roads and other infrastructure.
The first place we visited was the neighbourhood of Afghan Abad, in Gonbad, home to many Afghan Turkmen. Located near the river, some of the houses have been washed away completely while others were fully or partly underwater. More than 400 families have lost all or most of their possessions. They have been evacuated from the area and are accommodated in tents or in existing camps for displaced people. Despite some distributions of essential relief items, people are in great need of assistance to meet their basic needs.