Emergency relief aid is reaching 2,300 people affected by flooding in the Panjakent and Hamadoni regions of Tajikistan.

From July 10 to July 17, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) delivered emergency aid to 215 families in Panjakent, providing 22 tons of essential food items, such as vegetable oil, sugar, rice, flour and children’s food, and emergency nonfood supplies, such as kitchen utensils, blankets, bedding, towels and clothes. The total project is valued at U.S. $9,782, and is funded by ADRA International, ADRA Tajikistan, and ADRA Euro-Asia, the regional headquarters for ADRA in Russia.

More than 3,000 people have been affected by the storms that swept through this region in Western Tajikistan between June 3 and 8, causing mudflows that destroyed homes and, in some cases, entire villages. According to a United Nations report, five people have been reported dead, including three children, and many are missing.

In the Hamadoni region, snow and glacier thawing caused catastrophic flooding in the Panj River. More than 8,500 people have been affected, with only one known human casualty. The flooding also damaged entire villages, including 170 houses, 85 of which were destroyed.

ADRA is also providing emergency aid items to 250 families in the Sayod village of the Hamadoni region.

“Mudflows often affect our country, and ADRA is always ready to help,” said Arturo Finis, country director for ADRA Tajikistan. “In this specific situation, an ADRA team was close to the area when the disaster happened. ADRA’s staff immediately coordinated the response with the Minister of Emergency Situations, who was surprised and happy to see ADRA again working in the right place at the right time.”