17 killed, 26 injured in rain-related accidents in Afghanistan

Kabul, March 29 (IANS) At least 17 people were killed, and 26 others were injured in rain-related accidents in Afghanistan during the last 24 hours, the country's National Disaster Management Authority announced on Sunday.

Heavy rains triggered flash floods, along with landslides, thunder, and lightning, across the country, including parts of Parwan, Daykundi, Wardak and Logar provinces, said Hafiz Mohammad Yusuf Hammad, spokesman for the authority.

Floods have also damaged 147 houses, washed away 80 km of roads, and inundated 582 acres of agricultural land along with 31 water canals and irrigation networks across the affected provinces, he added, Xinhua News Agency reported.

These figures were preliminary, Hammad stressed, noting that assessment teams from the authority are still conducting surveys and evaluations across the affected areas. He cautioned that the casualty toll could change as more information becomes available.

Afghanistan's meteorological authorities have issued new alerts forecasting further rainfall in the coming days, heightening the risk of additional flooding in mountainous and vulnerable areas.

On January 22, a National Disaster Management Authority spokesperson said that at least 11 people have been killed and three others injured amid heavy snowfall and rains lashing multiple provinces.

According to the spokesperson, initial reports from provincial authorities indicate that severe weather had affected residents in the provinces of eastern Parwan, Wardak, southern Kandahar, northern Jawzjan, Faryab, and central Bamiyan.

The storms have partially destroyed nine homes and led to the loss of 530 livestock, severely affecting local livelihoods in these agrarian regions, said the spokesperson, adding that the snow accumulation had blocked key roads, prompting urgent clearance operations by authorities to restore connectivity and facilitate aid delivery.

In October last year, the authority said that 721 families were impacted due to recent rainfall and flash floods in Afghanistan's three provinces - Kabul, Laghman, and Kapisa, local media reported on Monday.

Authority spokesperson Mohammad Younus Hamad said that several residential houses had been completely or partially destroyed, more than 1,000 acres of agricultural land had been washed away, and fruit farmers have faced significant losses, Afghanistan-based Tolo News reported. He further said that several kilometres of roads have been damaged in some areas, and 3,000 chickens were killed in a poultry farm.

--IANS

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