At least 28 people were killed and 10 others injured across several Afghan provinces over the past 48 hours due to heavy rain, flooding, landslides and lightning strikes, the country’s disaster management authority said on Saturday.
The authority’s spokesman, Mohammad Yousuf Hammad, said in a statement that hundreds of homes had been completely or partially damaged.
The Salang Highway, the main route linking the capital Kabul with northern Afghanistan, was also temporarily closed to traffic due to flooding. In some provinces, security forces used military vehicles and helicopters to rescue victims from flood-affected areas.
The country’s meteorological department forecast heavy rainfall for the weekend.
Deadly flooding has repeatedly struck Afghanistan in recent years, causing significant loss of life, injuries and widespread damage to homes, infrastructure and agricultural land.
Extreme weather events such as flash floods and droughts are increasing in Afghanistan, which experts link to the climate crisis.
Despite having a negligible carbon footprint, the country ranks among the nations most affected by climate change and remains ill-prepared to cope after decades of conflict, poor infrastructure and a struggling economy, compounded by recent earthquakes and severe flooding.
