Two days of torrential rains kill 30 in Afghanistan

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL

Over 30 people have been killed and hundreds of acres of farmland destroyed by two days of torrential rainfall in Afghanistan, an official said Sunday.

According to Wais Barmak, state minister for the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, most casualties have been recorded in the central Daikundi, Uruzgan and Ghazni provinces.

In the Uruzgan province, over 20 homes were destroyed, while communications were knocked out and several roads blocked by flooding.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, provincial disaster management director Reza Sidiqi said at least two women were among the dead, while hundreds of acres of farmland in the province had been inundated.

Mohamed Ali, a resident of the Malistan district in the southern Ghazni province, said incessant rainfall had caused massive property damage.

According to district chief Zamin Ali Hidayat, many local residents have sought shelter in other areas after their homes were damaged by heavy rainfall.

The Jaghori and Qarabagh districts also reportedly suffered considerable rain-related damage.

Mohamed Akram, a resident of Qarabagh’s Hamzakhel locality, said rain had destroyed a number of orchards and wheat crops in the area.

Afghanistan's metrology department, meanwhile, has predicted further flooding and heavy rainfall in several parts of the country.

Last year, avalanches and flash floods claimed the lives of at least 129 people in various provinces of Afghanistan, with the central Panjsher province being the hardest hit.