KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least four people were killed and six others injured in separate weather-related incidents in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Daykundi provinces on Wednesday, Taliban officials said, as heavy rain, storms, and lightning struck parts of the country.
In southern Kandahar province, three people, including a child, died and six others were injured after heavy rainfall combined with strong winds and storms hit several districts, according to local Taliban authorities.
Abdul Salam Omari, head of the Taliban’s disaster management department in Kandahar, said the storm also caused widespread damage, affecting 205 families across the province. He said homes were damaged and infrastructure was impacted in multiple districts following the severe weather conditions.
Separately in central Daykundi province, Taliban authorities said a 22-year-old man was killed after being struck by lightning in Miramor district on Wednesday evening. Local authorities said the strike occurred in a rural area as thunderstorms passed through the region.
The incidents came as Afghanistan has been experiencing a series of severe weather events in recent months, with heavy rainfalls, snowfalls, storms, flooding, and lightning affecting provinces including Kandahar and Helmand. Authorities said strong winds and heavy rainfall have disrupted daily life, damaged property, and created risks in both urban and rural areas.
According to earlier figures from the Taliban’s disaster management authority, at least 190 people have been killed and about 250 others injured over the past months due to weather-related incidents, including flooding, storms, lightning strikes and house collapses. Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed, with agricultural land also affected in several provinces.
Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, including flash floods, storms, and droughts, which experts say have become more frequent and destructive in recent years. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that limited infrastructure, environmental degradation, and weak disaster-response systems continue to increase the country’s exposure to climate-related hazards.
