KABUL, August 16(ABC): Flash floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 29 people and destroyed scores of homes in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.
Scores of Afghans die every year in torrential downpours, particularly in impoverished rural areas where poorly built homes are at risk of collapse.
Heavy rains over the past 24 hours lashed Parwan, Kapisa and Nangarhar provinces.
Mohammad Naseeb Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management, said at least 20 people were killed in Parwan and more than 50 were injured.
“Crops, dozens of homes and roads have been destroyed,” he told, adding that five people died in Kapisa and four in Nangarhar.
Relief teams and emergency aid had been despatched to the affected areas, he added. Rescuers were searching for survivors in muddy debris.
About 100 people were also missing in Parwan, said Hekmatullah Shamim, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Since the Taliban stormed back to power in August last year, foreign-funded aid and disaster relief schemes have been dramatically reduced.
Western nations are wary that any assistance could be commandeered by the Taliban and used to consolidate their grip on power.