Heavy rains kill 47 in Afghanistan's Nangarhar; death toll likely to rise

Heavy rains have left 47 people dead and 350 others injured in eastern Afghanistan, a local official says.

Intense storms hit eastern Nangarhar Province on Monday evening, leaving a trail of destruction.

Saifullah Khalid, head of Nangarhar's disaster management authority, confirmed the updated death toll on Tuesday, adding that the torrent demolished about 400 homes.

The casualties were caused by heavy storms and rains that collapsed trees, walls and roofs of people's houses, Quraishi Badloon, head of the department of information and culture, told the media.

"There is a possibility that casualties might rise," he went on, adding that the wounded as well as victims' bodies were brought to Nangarhar regional hospital and Fatima-tul-Zahra hospital.

Afghanistan witnessed an unusually wet spring this year after a very dry winter.

In May, hundreds were killed after flash floods swamped swathes of agricultural land in the country where 80 percent of people depend on farming for their livelihood.

The war-battered country faces frequent natural disasters, leading the United Nations to classify it among countries most vulnerable to climate change which scientists say is making extreme weather more common and severe.

The land-locked country has faced a funding shortage because of the West's embargo since the Taliban assumed control and US-led foreign forces left in 2021.

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