Heavy rains in Afghanistan and Pakistan unleash flash floods that killed dozens of people

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Torrential floods triggered by monsoon rains in Afghanistan have killed at least 31 people and dozens are missing over the past three days, while 13 people have been killed in neighboring Pakistan due to torrential rains and landslides.

At least 31 people have been killed, 74 injured, and 41 others are missing, Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of State for Natural Disaster Management, said Sunday. torrents And hit the capital, Kabul, Wardak Square and Ghazni. He added that the majority of the victims were in western Kabul and Wardak Square.
Rahimi also said that about 250 head of livestock died in the floods.

The floods have brought more misery to an already suffering Afghanistan. In April, the United Nations humanitarian 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 Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the recent floods occurred in Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul, killing 12 people. He said that at least 40 other people are missing and rescue teams are busy conducting search and rescue operations.
The provincial governor’s office said in a statement that hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed and the missing are believed to be under the rubble of collapsed homes.
The statement also said hundreds of square miles of farmland had been swept away and destroyed, and the highway between Kabul and the central province of Bamyan was closed due to floods.
In Pakistan, 13 people were killed and seven others injured due to heavy rains and landslides as the monsoon season continued to affect parts of the country on Sunday.
In the northwestern state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine people lost their lives in the past 48 hours in rain-related accidents.
In Skardu district of Gilgit-Baltistan region, four family members died when a landslide hit their car, according to police officer Raja Mirza Hasan.
Provincial disaster management authority spokesman Taimur Khan said torrential rains and thunderstorms damaged at least 74 homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The district authorities declared a state of emergency in Chitral district as rainfall caused flash floods in the hilly region.
Since the start of the monsoon season on June 25, the country has seen 101 deaths including 16 women and 42 children, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.