Heavy rain and flooding in northern Afghanistan leaves 47 dead, an official says

KABUL (Reuters) – At least 47 people have died after persistent heavy rains and floods in northern Afghanistan, an official said on Sunday, a day after a similar number were killed in a central province.

Shamsudden Mohammedi, head of the information department for Faryab province in the north, told Reuters that initial reports said at least 300 houses had been destroyed.

At least 50 people died in the central province of Ghor on Saturday, said Mawlawi Abdul Hai Zaeem, head of the provincial information department.

Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters and the United Nations considers it one of the countries most affected by climate change.

Last week, flash floods caused by heavy rains devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 people and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday.

On Wednesday, a helicopter used by the Afghan air force crashed due to “technical problems” while trying to recover the bodies of people who had fallen into a river in Ghor province, killing one and injuring 12, the defense ministry said .

After the Taliban came to power and the withdrawal of foreign troops in 2021, Afghanistan faced a shortage of aid supplies. Development aid, which formed the backbone of government finances, was cut.

The deficit has worsened in subsequent years as foreign governments grapple with competing global crises and growing condemnation of the Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Writing by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by William Mallard)