Flash floods kill 29 in Afghanistan

KABUL: Flash floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 29 people and destroyed scores of homes in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Monday.

Scores of Afghans die every year in torrential downpours, particularly in impoverished rural areas where poorly built homes are at risk of collapse. Heavy rains over the past 24 hours lashed Parwan, Kapisa and Nangarhar provinces.

Mohammad Naseeb Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management, said at least 20 people were killed in Parwan and more than 50 were injured. "Crops, dozens of homes and roads have been destroyed," he told AFP, adding that five people died in Kapisa and four in Nangarhar.

Relief teams and emergency aid had been dispatched to the affected areas, he added. Rescuers were searching for survivors in muddy debris. About 100 people were also missing in Parwan, said Hekmatullah Shamim, spokesman for the provincial governor.