Heavy rains set off flash floods in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 84 people

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — More heavy rains in Afghanistan have triggered flash floods, raising the death toll to 84 in the country’s north following weeks of devastating torrents that had already left hundreds dead and missing, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/05/2024 (866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More heavy rains in Afghanistan have triggered flash floods, raising the death toll to 84 in the country’s north following weeks of devastating torrents that had already left hundreds dead and missing, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday.

The new round of heavy rains and floods hit four districts in Faryab province Saturday night, leaving 66 dead, five injured and eight missing. Another 18 people had died in floods on Friday, said Esmatullah Moradi, spokesman for the provincial governor in Faryab.

Moradi said that around 1,500 houses were either completely or partially destroyed while hundreds of hectares (acres) of farmlands were washed away and more than 300 animals killed.

Afghan men collect their belongings from their damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
Afghan men collect their belongings from their damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)

Afghanistan has been witnessing unusually heavy seasonal rains.

In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 people were reported dead from Friday’s floods, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The U.N. food agency said Ghor was the most affected by the floods. Last week, the World Food Program said the exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan had killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of houses, mostly in the northern province of Baghlan.

Survivors have been left with no home, no land, and no source of livelihood, WFP said, adding that most of Baghlan was inaccessible by trucks.

The latest disaster came on the heels of devastating floods that killed at least 70 people in April. The waters also destroyed about 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat, and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

An Afghan man collects his belongings from his damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
An Afghan man collects his belongings from his damaged home after heavy flooding in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Flash floods from heavy seasonal rains in Ghor province killed dozens of people and dozens remain missing, a Taliban official said on Saturday, adding the death toll was based on preliminary reports and might rise. (AP Photo/Omid Haqjoo)
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