The State Ministry for Disaster Management says at least 31 people have died, 74 have been injured and 41 others are missing due to flash floods in various parts of the country.

This comes amid an ongoing weather warning of heavy rain and flash floods across 17 provinces in the country.

According to the ministry, more than 604 residential houses and hundreds of acres of land were damaged or destroyed and 250 livestock died as a result of the floods.

“Thirty-one were martyred, 41 disappeared and 74 others have been injured,” said Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the ministry adding that “604 residential houses were completely or partially destroyed and 250 livestock also died.”

Rahimi said that the most of the casualties in the last three days were in Maidan Wardak province. However, of the 31 who died, 25 were in Maidan Wardak province. These included women and children.

“There is a lot of destruction, there are many casualties, 30 to 35 people are dead, the floods have taken away many cars and destroyed many houses,” said a Maidan Wardak resident.

The floods also impacted Paghman district of Kabul province, leaving huge financial losses to the people of the area.

Based on disaster management statistics, 214 people have died and 320 people have been injured due to floods in the country over the past four months.

According to the ministry, following these natural disasters, since the beginning of this solar year (March 21), 3,115 residential houses have been completely or partially destroyed, and more than 41,000 acres of agricultural land has been badly damaged, while 3,800 livestock have been lost.

Afghanistan’s meteorological department meanwhile has warned of heavy rain and flash floods across 17 central and eastern provinces in the country over the next two days. 

The affected provinces are Bamiyan, Ghor, Daikundi, Logar, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman, Maidan Wardak, Kabul, Parwan, Kunar, Ghazni, Kapisa, and Zabul. The weather service estimates as much as 40 mm of rain can be expected in some areas. The warning is valid for July 24 and 25.