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Flash floods have wreaked havoc in northern Afghanistan, claiming at least 31 lives and leaving 17 injured.
According to the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar state news agency, the death toll is likely to increase as scores of people have gone missing as well, Khaama Press reported. Parwan province, one of the mountainous provinces in Afghanistan, is home to the Hindu Kush mountain range, and some of its districts often experience flooding as a result of torrential rains. According to local sources, numerous residential homes and hundreds of acres of farming fields have been devastated in the province, Khaama Press reported. Moreover, the Parwan-Bamyan highway has been closed for traffic as a result of the devastating floods. The heavy rains and flooding have also affected several other Afghan provinces, including Nangarhar province in the east and Panjshir province in the north. The heavy rains and flash floods have affected a large number of villages and townships in the three provinces located in the country's eastern and central areas over the past several days. According to local residents, the floods have caused the destruction of hundreds of residential structures, thousands of acres of farming fields, and dozens of gardens. About two weeks ago, more than 40 people including women and children were killed and many others injured when floods swept across a village in Afghanistan's eastern Nuristan province. Severe rainfall and flash floods in the Panjshir and Takhar provinces of Afghanistan also damaged property extensively. The heavy rains damaged or destroyed around 2,900 houses, a tenfold increase since the last reporting period, and also disrupted livelihoods. Critical civilian infrastructure such as roads and bridges have also been impacted. Multiple localized assessments and relief operations are ongoing. Over the past month, about 400 people reportedly have lost their lives due to monsoon rains and flooding in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, according to the Afghanistan Department of Meteorology, 22 provinces across the country may experience heavy rain and flash floods tomorrow and the meteorologists also issued a warning for the possible flash floods in several other provinces, including Parwan. (ANI)
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