Kabul: At least 28 people have lost their lives in Afghanistan due to heavy rainfall and severe storms, disaster management authorities reported on Tuesday.
According to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), rain sweeping the country since Thursday has caused floods and landslides in several provinces.
“Twenty-eight people were martyred and 49 injured,” the agency said, adding that more than 100 homes had been destroyed.
Among the victims was a 14-year-old boy killed by lightning in the northwestern province of Badghis, police spokesman Sediqullah Seddiqi said.
In the same province, three people drowned while attempting to collect driftwood for heating, he added.
ANDMA said at least 130 homes were destroyed, while more than 430 others were damaged.
In central Daikundi province, a five-year-old child was killed when a roof collapsed, local disaster officials said.
A woman died in similar circumstances in eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, according to police spokesman Sayed Tayeb Hamad.
Officials have warned residents to stay away from rivers and flood channels and to follow weather advisories closely.
The severe weather has forced the closure of several highways in central and eastern regions, officials said, with further rain and storms forecast.
The latest deaths come after more than 60 people were killed in heavy snow and rain in January.
Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries after decades of war, is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which scientists say is driving more extreme weather.
