KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least 28 people have been killed and 49 wounded in Afghanistan after days of heavy rain triggered flash floods, landslides, and lightning strikes across multiple provinces, Taliban authorities said on Monday.
The Taliban-run Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said the casualties were recorded over the past four days as intense rainfall swept across much of the country, affecting both urban and rural areas.
The authority said 1,130 families have been affected since March 26, with widespread damage to homes, farmland, and infrastructure. A total of 568 houses were fully or partially destroyed, along with 10 shops.
Rainfall, floods, and landslides also damaged 24 water sources and 53 water supply networks, while 93 kilometers of roads were affected, disrupting transport and access to essential services in several provinces.
The disaster also destroyed 2,901 jeribs (approximately 580 hectares) of agricultural land, uprooted 1,938 trees, and killed 244 livestock, the authority said, highlighting the impact on rural communities.
The casualties and damage were recorded across many provinces, including Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, and Helmand.
The figures remain preliminary as assessment teams continue to survey affected areas, the authority said, warning that the toll could rise.
A day earlier, Taliban authorities had reported 17 deaths and 26 wounded.
More rainfall and flooding are forecast in the coming days. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned of widespread rain and potential flooding, particularly in central, southern, and eastern provinces, between March 30 and April 5.
These incidents are the latest in a series of weather-related casualties this year. Earlier rainfall and flooding killed at least 12 people and injured 11 others across 11 provinces. Before that, heavy snow and rain claimed 61 lives and injured more than 110 people, while damaging roads, homes, and infrastructure.
Afghanistan remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters due to fragile infrastructure, environmental degradation, and limited disaster response capacity, particularly in remote areas.
The extreme weather comes as the country faces a worsening humanitarian situation, with nearly 22 million people reliant on aid and more than 17 million experiencing acute food insecurity, most of them women and children, according to the UN.
