More than 40 people are still missing after the overnight flash floods brought on by torrential rain in central Afghanistan claimed the lives of 26, according to officials.
A total of 31 people have died nationally in floods since Friday, according to Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the State Ministry for Disaster Management, and substantial damage has been done to houses and farms.
According to government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Maidan Wardak province’s Jalrez district, which is the primary catastrophe area, is receiving urgent relief.
Flash floods frequently occur in Afghanistan during the wet season as torrential rain washes down dry riverbeds despite the country being on the western end of the Asian monsoon footprint.
At a press conference, Rahimi reported that since Friday, 604 homes in Jalrez had suffered full or partial damage, and hundreds of acres of orchards and agricultural land had been devastated.
Nationwide, “in the last four months, 214 people were killed in natural disaster-related incidents”, Rahimi said.
