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devastating flash flood It has claimed the lives of at least 17 people AfghanistanIt comes after the first heavy rains and snowfall of the season ended a long drought.
The victims included five members of a family, including two children, who died on Thursday when the roof of their house collapsed in Kabukan, Herat province.
A spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority confirmed that 11 other people were injured as floods swept through several parts of the country since Monday.
The severe weather also caused widespread damage to infrastructure, killed livestock and affected 1,800 families, exacerbating already dire conditions in vulnerable urban and rural communities.
The authority’s Mohamed Youssef Hamad said assessment teams had been dispatched to the worst-hit areas and investigations were underway to determine further humanitarian needs.
Afghanistan, much like its neighbors Pakistan and India, is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, particularly flash floods following seasonal rainfall.
Decades of conflict, inadequate infrastructure, widespread deforestation and the escalating impacts of climate change have combined to exacerbate the damage, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer insufficient protection against sudden flooding.