Floods, Landslides Triggered By Heavy Rain In Afghanistan Leave 77 Dead In 10 days, Authorities Say
Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning triggered by heavy rains and storms across Afghanistan have killed 77 people and injured 137 over the past ten days, the country’s Disaster Management Authority said on Saturday.
Further rain is forecast for the coming days across Afghanistan, and authorities have warned the public to stay away from river banks and flood-prone areas.
Since the start of the year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather conditions in Afghanistan, a poor country highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens dead across the country.
The recent toll includes 26 people killed in the past 48 hours, disaster authorities said. A total of 793 houses were completely destroyed and another 2,673 were damaged, while floods and landslides destroyed 337 kilometers (about 210 miles) of roads, it said.
Businesses, farmland, water wells and irrigation canals were also damaged, affecting a total of more than 5,800 families, authorities said.
Several highways connecting the country’s capital to provinces were also damaged by floods and landslides, forcing travelers to take long and circuitous routes to reach Kabul, Public Works Ministry spokesman Ashraf Haqshinas said on Saturday.
These include the Kabul-Jalalabad highway, which is the main route connecting the capital to the Pakistani border and the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. A landslide and rockfall, along with flooding, closed the road Thursday morning, and Haqshinas said crews were working to reopen the road.
The Ministry of Public Works warned travelers to be careful when using roads in affected areas.
Flooding also closed the Salang Pass, a high mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects Kabul to the north of the country, including the major cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Snow and heavy rain often trigger flash floods that kill dozens, even hundreds, of people at a time in Afghanistan. In 2024, more than 300 people will die in spring flash floods.
This story was written by the Associated Press. Elena Becatoros contributed from Kabul, Afghanistan.
