Afghanistan faces further rough conditions on Thursday, the country’s weather authorities warned, after floods, earthquakes and landslides killed 148 people over the past two weeks.
Heavy rain has triggered severe flooding in the South Asian country since March 26 and caused homes and buildings to collapse in hilly areas.
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region last week, compounding challenges in the war-shattered nation.
Since March 26, 148 people have died, 216 have been injured and eight are missing due to heavy rains, floods, earthquakes and landslides, the deputy spokesperson for the Taliban administration, Hamdullah Fitrat, said late on Wednesday.
At least 1,149 houses have been destroyed, while roads and crops have also been damaged, affecting more than 7,500 families, he said.
The UN lists Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather and climate change. Hemmed in by rugged mountains, Afghanistan experiences frequent earthquakes.
Heavy rains also killed at least 17 people, including 14 children, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last month, and Reuters images showed roads washed away by a flash flood in neighbouring Balochistan province.
In 2025, earthquakes, floods, and drought destroyed 8,000 homes in Afghanistan and strained public services “beyond their limits”, according to a UN development programme report in November.
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