Fri, Nov 22, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 20, 1446 | DXB ktweather icon0°C

Heavy rain kills at least 35 in eastern Afghanistan: Official

230 people injured as thunderstorms lash Jalalabad and Nangarhar

Published: Mon 15 Jul 2024, 9:28 PM

  • By
  • AFP

Top Stories

Flash floods gush over a damaged bridge after a heavy rainfall in the Qala area of Dara district, Panjshir province, Afghanistan, on July 15, 2024. — AFP

Flash floods gush over a damaged bridge after a heavy rainfall in the Qala area of Dara district, Panjshir province, Afghanistan, on July 15, 2024. — AFP

At least 35 people were killed and 230 injured on Monday after heavy rain in eastern Afghanistan, a local official said.

"On Monday evening, rain caused by thunderstorms killed 35 people and injured 230 others in Jalalabad and certain districts of Nangarhar" province, said Quraishi Badloon, head of the department of information and culture.

The casualties were caused by heavy storms and rains that collapsed trees, walls and roofs of people's houses, Badloon said.

"There is a possibility that casualties might rise," he said, adding that the wounded as well as victims' bodies were brought to Nangarhar regional hospital and Fatima-tul-Zahra Hospital.

Images shared by Badloon's department showed medical personnel wearing white and blue uniforms giving treatment to the wounded.

"We share the grief of the families of the victims," said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government.

"The relevant institutions of the Islamic Emirate have been directed to go to the affected areas as soon as possible," Mujahid wrote on X, adding they would provide shelter, food and medicine to displaced families.

The tragedy comes after flash floods killed hundreds of people in Afghanistan in May and swamped agricultural lands in the country, where 80 per cent of the population depends on farming to survive.

This year, Afghanistan saw an unusually wet spring after an extremely dry winter.



Next Story