The death toll from recent floods and heavy rains across Afghanistan has risen to 189, with 250 others injured, according to the Taliban-run agency for disaster management, the ANDMA, underscoring the growing human and economic toll of weeks of severe weather.
The ANDMA said that in the past 24 hours alone, 10 people were killed and 15 others injured in flood-related incidents across the country. Nine people remain missing.
The floods and rains that started on March 26 have affected at least 20 provinces, with widespread damage reported to homes, agriculture and infrastructure. More than 7,000 houses have been destroyed, including 7,047 homes fully damaged, according to official figures.
The agency also said that about 18,650 jeribs of agricultural land have been lost, dealing a heavy blow to livelihoods in a country where many depend on farming. Hundreds of kilometers of roads and numerous water supply networks have also been damaged or destroyed.
In total, around 9,000 families have been affected by the floods, many losing not only their homes but also their primary sources of income.
Residents in affected areas have called for urgent humanitarian assistance, saying they have been left without shelter or basic necessities.
Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, a risk that has been exacerbated in recent years by climate change, poverty and fragile infrastructure. Although the country contributes minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations has identified it as one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, with extreme weather events increasingly resulting in heavy casualties and damage.
