At least 20 people were killed, around 80 others injured and more than 100 remain missing after flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall struck Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, a government official said.
Yousuf Hammad, spokesperson for Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, said in a post on X that the floods caused heavy casualties in the province.
He said officials from the provincial disaster management department had arrived in the affected areas and launched search-and-rescue operations, including efforts to recover the bodies of victims, rescue the injured and search for those missing.
Preliminary figures on casualties and property losses will be released after investigations and damage assessments are completed, Hammad added.
In a separate statement posted on X, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan government, expressed condolences to the families of those killed and stressed the need to speed up ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
According to local authorities, Parun, the provincial capital of Nuristan, was the worst-hit area, with numerous houses and infrastructure facilities damaged by the floods.
Flash floods kill 20, leave over 100 missing in eastern Afghanistan
