At least 31 people have lost their lives, and many others are missing due to heavy flooding caused by seasonal rains in Afghanistan. At the same time, Pakistan has also been affected, with 13 deaths reported from heavy rains and landslides.

The Taliban’s appointed spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster ministry, Shafiullah Rahimi, disclosed that over the past three days, 31 people were killed, 74 were injured, and 41 others were missing due to flooding in Kabul, Maidan Wardak, and Ghazni provinces. Most of the casualties occurred in west Kabul and Maidan Wardak, with around 250 livestock also perishing in the floods.

These floods have brought further suffering to Afghanistan, a country already facing drought, economic hardship, and the aftermath of prolonged conflict and natural disasters.

In the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province, a recent flash flood resulted in 12 fatalities as rapidly rising waters caught people in their sleep. Additionally, hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, leading to around 40 people being reported missing. Rescue teams have been conducting search and rescue operations in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, heavy rains and landslides during the monsoon season have caused 13 fatalities and injured seven people. Nine of these deaths occurred in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while in the Skardu area of Gilgit Baltistan, four family members died in a massive landslide that hit their car. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms also damaged 74 houses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Since the start of the monsoon season on June 25, a total of 101 people, including 16 women and 42 children, have lost their lives in Pakistan due to rain-related incidents.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are vulnerable to natural disasters, with an average of 200,000 people affected in Afghanistan each year. In 2022, record floods during the monsoon season affected a third of the country, resulting in the deaths of around 1,700 people.