OF THE
TIMES
Extreme rainfall in Afghanistan and devastating flash floods have killed at least 66 people and damaged homes, infrastructure, and farmlands across most of the country's provinces, authorities said on Tuesday.
The storms, which started over the weekend, are adding to the challenges facing Afghanistan, which is still recovering from decades of conflict and natural disasters, including unprecedented droughts in the past four years, as well as a series of deadly earthquakes.
"According to primary reports from the provinces, at least 66 people lost their lives, and 36 others are injured," Janan Sayeq, spokesperson of the National Disaster Management Authority, told Arab News on Tuesday.
The number of reported casualties has doubled since Sunday, raising fears the actual toll could be higher. Many of the victims were killed when their homes collapsed on them.
Comment: This is the desert region's heaviest rainfall in at least 75 years - since 1949, when proper record-keeping began there... so, for all we know, it's the Arabian region's heaviest rainfall in the entire modern era.
Elsewhere in the region: Flash floods hit Oman - at least 18 killed