Flash Floods Kill 23 and Leave 100 Missing in Afghanistan
Flash floods that tore through Afghanistan’s remote Nuristan province have killed at least 23 people and left more than 100 missing, with rescue crews digging through mud and rubble for a second day. Some 80 people were injured and buildings collapsed when the waters struck; the toll is expected to climb as teams reach cut-off villages, and forecasters warn of further flooding across ten provinces.
Nuristan’s steep valleys funnel sudden downpours into walls of water and debris, and mud-and-stone homes offer little protection; the same province lost more than a hundred people to floods in 2021. Afghanistan ranks among the world’s most disaster-exposed nations, yet its emergency response has been hollowed out since the Taliban’s 2021 return froze international assets and cut development aid. More than 300 died in floods in 2024 and at least 110 earlier this year. With heavy rain and further flash flooding forecast, officials have urged residents away from riverbanks. Watch the rising death toll as access to isolated hamlets improves.