At least 31 people have been killed and dozens of others are missing after heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan, as 13 people died due to heavy rains and landslides in neighbouring Pakistan.
Shafiullah Rahimi, the Taliban’s appointed spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster ministry, said on Sunday that at least 31 people were killed, 74 were injured and 41 others were missing after flooding over the past three days.
Flash floods hit the capital Kabul, the Maidan Wardak and Ghazni provinces. He said that the majority of the casualties were in west Kabul and Maidan Wardak. Rahimi said about 250 livestock perished in the floods.
The flooding brought further misery to the already suffering Afghanistan. In April, the United Nation’s humanitarian affairs agency said the South Asian country was facing its third consecutive year of drought, its second year of severe economic hardship and the consequences of decades of war and natural disasters.
The most recent flash flood happened in the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province west of Kabul. At least 12 people were killed in their sleep by rapidly rising floodwaters, said Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid. Some 40 other people were missing after hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, and rescue teams were busy conducting search and rescue operations, he said.
Issuing a condolence message, Mujahid called on aid groups and the Kabul administration to help the bereaved families.
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