Heavy rains in Nangarhar leave 16 dead and injured

Heavy rains and a series of roof collapses in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province have left at least 16 people dead or injured, local officials said, as severe weather continues to batter vulnerable communities.

The worst-affected areas include the provincial capital Jalalabad, particularly the Angoor Bagh neighborhood, as well as the districts of Sherzad, Khogyani, and Haska Mina.

According to provincial authorities, five people were killed and two others injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Angoor Bagh. In Sherzad district, a separate incident claimed the lives of a woman and two children after another roof gave way.

Further casualties were reported in Khogyani district, where one person was killed and two others injured. In Haska Mina, the collapse of two homes left one child dead and two more people wounded.

Provincial spokesperson Qari Ehsanullah Osmani said emergency response teams have been deployed across the affected areas, with both civil and military units working to assist victims and carry out rescue operations.

Authorities have warned that continued heavy rainfall poses an ongoing risk to homes and infrastructure, particularly in rural and mountainous areas where buildings are often not constructed to withstand extreme weather.

Afghanistan has increasingly faced severe weather events in recent years, with heavy rains, flash floods, and landslides exacerbated by climate change, deforestation, and fragile infrastructure, leaving communities highly exposed to natural disasters.