Monsoon-driven floods kill at least 20 in Afghanistan | Stories of the Flood

Rescue teams are racing to reach Nuristan province as destruction continues in the region.

At least 20 people have died due to floods in the eastern province of Afghanistan in Nuristan.

Emergency officials and the governor’s office said the floods hit on Monday, destroying homes and shops in the main city of Parun. The cyclone has wreaked havoc across the region in recent weeks, killing dozens of people in India and Nepal.

At least 20 bodies have been found and more than 80 people have been injured, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

The casualties were reported in Parun and other parts of Nuristan, which borders Pakistan. The mayor of the provincial capital and several district officials were among those missing, the governor’s office said.

Officials of the district disaster management department have started search and rescue operations for the missing people.

Ashiqullah Safi, head of the local NGO Shpoul, told AFP that the floods had “completely destroyed the city”.

He also said that many hotels and shops have been destroyed, and people are searching in an area full of debris without proper equipment, he said after the flood water left large stones scattered in the town.

Afghanistan, like neighboring Pakistan and India, is a winner vulnerable to extreme weather eventsespecially flooding after monsoon rains.

This year’s monsoon has wreaked havoc across South Asia since June, with heavy rains causing floods and landslides across the country.

Floods and landslides were reported on Monday killing at least 25 people in northern and northeastern India. Parun is located 465km (290 miles) from Jammu, where the floods caused extensive damage.

In neighboring Nepal, floods, landslides and lightning have killed 27 people, left one missing and injured 69 others since mid-June, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.

The head of the environmental protection organization in Afghanistan, Mawlawi Matiul Haq Khalis, said this month that. flood in the country has increased, warning that environmental problems will “increase people’s problems”.