Flash Floods Kill at Least 20 in Afghanistan's Nuristan Province
L'essentiel
- At least 20 people have been killed and over 80 injured by monsoon-driven flash floods in Afghanistan's eastern Nuristan province, particularly in its main city Parun.
- Search-and-rescue operations are underway, with houses and shops destroyed in the affected areas.
Résumé généré par IA
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Monsoon-driven flash floods have killed at least 20 people and injured over 80 in Afghanistan's Nuristan province, destroying houses and shops in its main city, Parun. This event is part of a broader pattern of monsoon chaos across South Asia, which has also affected India and Nepal.
At least 20 people have been killed after monsoon-driven flash floods struck Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province.
Disaster officials and the governor’s office reported that the floods hit on Monday, destroying houses and shops in the province’s main city, Parun. The monsoon has wreaked havoc across the region in recent weeks, killing dozens of people in India and Nepal.
At least 20 bodies have been recovered and more than 80 people were injured, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).
The casualties were reported in Parun and other areas of Nuristan, which borders Pakistan. The mayor of the provincial capital as well as several regional employees were among the missing, the governor’s office said.
Officials from the provincial disaster management department have launched search-and-rescue operations, including efforts to recover bodies and locate the missing.
Ashiqullah Safi, head of local NGO Shpoul, told the AFP news agency the flood had “completely destroyed the municipality”.
Hotels and dozens of shops were reportedly destroyed, and residents were searching the debris-strewn area without proper equipment, he said, after the floodwaters left large boulders scattered through the town.
Afghanistan, like neighbouring Pakistan and India, is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, particularly flash floods following seasonal rains.
This year’s monsoon season has sparked chaos across South Asia since June, with heavy rains triggering floods and landslides in country after country.
Floods and landslides were reported on Monday to have killed at least 25 people across northern and northeastern India. Parun is located 465km (290 miles) from Jammu, where a flash flood caused extensive damage.
In neighbouring Nepal, monsoon-related floods, landslides and lightning strikes have killed 27 people, left one missing and injured 69 others since mid-June, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.
Questions ouvertes
- How many people are still missing?
- What is the full extent of property damage?
- What aid efforts are being mobilized?
