At least 68 dead after flash floods in Afghanistan – Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana traffic

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Flash floods caused by heavy seasonal rains have killed at least 68 people in Afghanistan, Taliban officials said Saturday, adding that the death toll was based on preliminary reports.

Afghanistan experienced unusually heavy seasonal rainfall.

In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 people were killed, said Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesman for the provincial governor. He also said the province suffered significant financial losses after thousands of homes and properties were damaged and hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were destroyed following Friday’s floods, including the capital Feroz Koh.

Esmatullah Moradi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said 18 people were killed and two others injured in northern Farayab province on Friday. Damage to property and land was reported in four districts and over 300 animals were killed, he added.

The UN food agency posted on social media platform WFP assessment teams are on site to provide assistance, the post said.

The spokesman for the Taliban government mourned “the loss of our Afghan compatriots” and called on humanitarian organizations to provide aid to the affected communities.

Last week, WFP said exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan had killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of homes, especially in the northern province of Baghlan, which suffered the brunt of flooding on May 10.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said the survivors were left with no home, no land and no means of livelihood. Most of Baghlan is “inaccessible to trucks,” WFP said, adding that it is resorting to all possible alternatives to deliver food to survivors

The latest disaster followed devastating floods that killed at least 70 people in April. The water also destroyed about 2,000 houses, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat provinces and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.