Rescue teams in Afghanistan were searching for survivors and recovering bodies on Tuesday after devastating flash floods swept through the eastern province of Nuristan, killing at least 23 people and leaving more than 100 others missing.
Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority said the floods struck on Monday (20 July), causing widespread destruction and the collapse of an undetermined number of buildings. At least 80 people were injured in the disaster, with the provincial capital, Parun, among the hardest-hit areas.
Authorities warned that the death toll could rise as search and rescue operations continue in remote and mountainous locations where access remains difficult.
Video footage from Parun showed streets buried under mud, rocks and debris, with rescue crews and residents digging through the rubble of collapsed homes and shops.
Resident Zubair Ahmad described scenes of devastation, saying floodwaters swept away people and destroyed businesses and homes.
"The flooding caused extensive damage and heavy losses for the local people," he said.
Heavy machinery was deployed to clear roads and remove debris, while local volunteers joined emergency teams in the search for missing residents.
Afghanistan's meteorological authorities warned that additional extreme weather could affect 10 of the country's 34 provinces. Forecasts included heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, sandstorms and further flash flooding.
Officials urged residents living near rivers and flood-prone areas to take precautions and avoid locations at risk.
Afghanistan is among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather events. Seasonal floods and landslides frequently cause significant loss of life, particularly in remote communities where many homes are built from mud and offer little protection against heavy rainfall.
The effects of climate change, combined with deforestation, poor infrastructure and decades of conflict, have increased the country's exposure to natural disasters.
Nuristan has been particularly susceptible to flash floods because widespread deforestation has reduced the land's ability to absorb rainfall, increasing runoff during storms.
The latest disaster follows a series of deadly weather-related events in recent years. In 2024, more than 300 people were killed by flash floods across Afghanistan, while earlier this year at least 110 people died in flooding and landslides in several provinces.
Rescue efforts are continuing as authorities race to find the more than 100 people still unaccounted for.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical li...
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur distri...
Cryptocurrencies are volatile, and their crashes make headlines. But does a slump in digital coins ever spill over into the pounds, dollars and eur...
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia remains willing to rebuild relations with European countries but warned that any wider conflict on the continent would leave no winners, as he commented on recent diplomatic contacts with Nordic leaders and growing security concerns in the Baltic region.
Hackers have pulled off a staggering $6.3 billion cryptocurrency heist targeting Binance, shaking confidence in one of the world's biggest digital asset exchanges and sending crypto prices tumbling. U.S. analysts suspect North Korea was behind the attack.
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district. The girl suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and back, while a classmate who tried to protect her was also hurt.
Deep divisions over Russia's war in Ukraine overshadowed a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday, as European officials criticised Moscow's participation and refused to join a traditional group photograph with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body responsible for monitoring money laundering and terrorist financing risks, has removed four countries from its so-called “grey list” after determining they had made sufficient progress in addressing weaknesses in their financial cr
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 5,000, according to government figures released on Friday, as health authorities continue to struggle to contain the country's worst-ever Ebola epidemic.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment