Flash floods and storms have killed 20 people after ravaging several provinces of Afghanistan over the past six days.
Scores of Afghans die every year in torrential downpours, particularly in impoverished rural areas where poorly built homes are at risk of collapse.
Deputy minister for disaster management Sharafuddin Muslim said the latest deluges wracked the provinces of Faryab and Parwan, as well as various other regions.
In a video statement on Wednesday, Muslim said “18 to 20 people have been killed across 10 provinces” and that more than 100 houses were also destroyed in the floods and storms.
Relief teams were despatched to the affected areas with tents and food and the authorities were distributing cash to families of those killed, according to officials.
Since the Taliban stormed back to power in August last year foreign-funded aid and disaster relief schemes have dramatically fallen off, said to foreign media house.
Western nations are wary that any assistance could be commandeered by Kabul’s new rulers, consolidating their grip on government.
Rescue efforts have therefore fallen to the Taliban themselves, who have been waging an insurgency for the past twenty years and have little experience in emergency management.
This year’s flooding also came as the country observed Eid al-Fitr holidays after the fasting month of Ramadan ended on Saturday in Afghanistan.
