KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) 鈥� Rescue crews in searched Tuesday for survivors and bodies in the rubble of houses destroyed by that authorities said have killed at least 23 people and left more than 100 missing.
The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said Tuesday that 80 people also were injured when floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among the areas affected, authorities said.
Video footage from Parun showed scenes of utter devastation, with piles of mud, rocks and rubble where buildings used to be. Bulldozers helped clear mud and smashed concrete while local residents used shovels to dig away at piles of earth.
鈥淭he flood came through here. We saw bodies being swept away in the floodwaters with our own eyes,” said Parun resident Zubair Ahmad, who said homes and shops were destroyed. 鈥淭he flooding caused extensive damage and heavy losses for the local people.鈥�
Forecasters predicted more extreme weather, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds accompanied by sand and flash floods in 10 of the country’s 34 provinces, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation鈥檚 meteorology department said Monday evening. The ministry warned residents to avoid riverbanks and other areas at risk of flooding.
Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to , with snow and heavy rain that trigger flash floods, often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time. In 2024, in springtime flash floods. Earlier this year, were killed by widespread flooding and landslides in several parts of the country.
, along with poor infrastructure, a , deforestation and the intensifying effects of , have amplified the impact of such disasters, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges or heavy snowfall.
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