KABUL, Afghanistan — Deadly storms and flooding across Afghanistan claimed 14 additional lives during the past day, officials announced Tuesday, pushing the five-day casualty count to 42 fatalities as meteorologists predict continued severe weather ahead.
Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority reported that 66 people have sustained injuries during the five-day period, as powerful thunderstorms and torrential rainfall impacted nearly all provinces throughout the nation. The severe weather has spawned dangerous flooding, deadly landslides, and fatal lightning incidents. Officials warned that additional heavy precipitation is expected to sweep across Afghanistan during the next 72 hours.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan posted on X that their initial field assessments indicated 19 fatalities and impacts to more than 900 households from the flooding. UN officials noted that damage evaluations remain underway and casualty numbers may be revised.
Earlier this year in January, dangerous snowstorms and sudden flooding resulted in dozens of deaths nationwide.
The country faces extreme susceptibility to severe weather conditions, where snow accumulation and intense rainfall create sudden flood events that frequently claim dozens or even hundreds of lives simultaneously. During 2024’s spring season, rapid flooding killed more than 300 people.
Years of warfare, combined with inadequate infrastructure, economic hardship, forest destruction, and worsening climate impacts have magnified the devastation from such natural disasters, especially in isolated regions where residences constructed from mud provide minimal defense against rapid flooding or heavy snow.
During the most recent 24-hour period, the extreme weather partially or completely demolished 476 residences, the national disaster authority reported Tuesday. Commercial properties, farmland, and water distribution systems also sustained damage, impacting 603 households.
