Monsoon-driven flash flooding kills at least 20 in Afghanistan

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Afghan authorities, reported that monsoon-driven flash floods killed at least 20 people in eastern Afghanistan’s Nuristan province after striking on Monday. The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said more than 80 others were injured, while officials said casualties were recorded in Parun, the provincial capital, and elsewhere in the province, which borders Pakistan.

According to the report, floodwaters damaged or destroyed homes, shops and hotels in Parun, and rescue teams were working to reach affected areas, recover bodies and search for people still missing. The governor’s office said the mayor of the provincial capital and several local government employees were among those unaccounted for. Ashiqullah Safi, head of the local NGO Shpoul, told AFP that the municipality had been devastated, with residents searching through debris without adequate equipment.

The flooding comes during a destructive monsoon season across South Asia. Al Jazeera reported that recent heavy rains have also caused deadly floods and landslides in India and Nepal, with at least 25 deaths reported across northern and northeastern India on Monday, and Nepalese authorities reporting dozens of monsoon-related deaths since mid-June.

Afghanistan is especially exposed to flash floods because of rugged terrain, fragile infrastructure and limited disaster-response capacity. Al Jazeera noted that Afghan officials have warned that flooding is increasing, with the country’s environmental protection chief linking environmental pressures to a wider humanitarian crisis. Scientists broadly say climate change can intensify extreme rainfall, though individual flood events require specific attribution studies.