Heavy seasonal rain triggers flooding in Afghanistan, at least 68 dead

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By Kristina Harazim & Euronews with AP

At least 50 people have been reported dead in the hard-hit western province of Ghor, according to local authorities after unusually heavy seasonal rain.

Ghor Province spokesman, Abdul Wahid Hamas, said the area recorded significant financial losses after thousands of homes and properties were damaged and hundreds of hectares of agricultural land destroyed following Friday's floods, including the capital city Feroz Koh.

Eighteen people in the northern province of Farayab were killed and two others injured on Friday, according to the provincial governor's spokesman, Esmatullah Moradi. Damage to property and land was reported across four districts and more than 300 animals were killed, he added.

In a post on social  media platform X, the UN food agency said Ghor was most affected by the floods where 2,500 families were impacted. It said WFP assessment teams are on the ground to deploy assistance.

Last week, the WFP said the exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of houses, mostly in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of floods on May 10th.

Survivors have been left with no home, no land, and no source of livelihood, the World Food Organization said. Most of Baghlan is ''inaccessible by trucks'', said WFP, adding that it is resorting to every alternative possible to deliver food to the survivors.

The latest disaster came on the heels of devastating floods that killed at least 70 people in April. The waters also destroyed about 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat, and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

The Taliban's government chief spokesman posted on X that he mourned ''the loss of our fellow Afghans'', and urged ''responsible authorities...to provide all necessary support to alleviate the suffering''. He also called on ''our benevolent donors'' to help, and humanitarian organisations to provide the affected communities with aid.