Rain fallout kills more than 130 in Afghanistan, Pakistan
A deluge of unseasonably heavy rains has lashed Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent days, killing more than 130 people across both countries, with authorities forecasting more flooding and rainfall, and some experts pointing to climate change as the cause.
In Afghanistan, at least 70 people have been killed in flash floods and other weather-related incidents, while more than 2,600 homes have been destroyed or damaged, according to Mullah Janan Sayeq, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Disaster Management.
At least 62 people have died in the storms in neighboring Pakistan, which has been hammered by rainfall at nearly twice the average rate for this time of year, according to Pakistani officials.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistani region bordering Afghanistan, appears to be the hardest hit. Flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rains have damaged homes and destroyed infrastructure. Photos and videos from the province show roads turned into raging rivers and homes and bridges being swept away.
“The rains have caused significant damage,” Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority, said in a phone interview. He said at least 33 people had died in the province over the past four days, and 336 houses had been destroyed.
The deluge in Afghanistan and Pakistan began at the same time that rainstorms swept the Gulf, battering the United Arab Emirates and Oman with record-setting rainfall that killed at least 20 people in both countries. The storms in the UAE constituted the largest rainfall event in the region in 75 years.
In Pakistan, the recent flooding comes just over two years after a devastating monsoon season battered the country in 2022, killing more than 1,700 people and affecting about 33 million more. That flooding destroyed millions of acres of crops, caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage and started an international conversation about the environmental costs of global warming that poorer countries disproportionately shoulder.
The rainstorms this week offered more grim reminders of those costs.
In Swat Valley, a tourist destination, landslides and washed-out roads caused by the rains stranded thousands, mostly tourists, said Amjad Ali Khan, a local member of parliament who oversaw rescue efforts.
“To mitigate future climate-change disasters, the provincial government has plans to build retention dams to manage water flow and control deforestation to prevent soil erosion,” Khan said.
Heavy rains also triggered devastating flash floods that tore through Pakistan’s Balochistan province, particularly its coastal region, causing widespread damage in Gwadar, a seaside city.
On Thursday, people in Pakistan were bracing for more heavy rain next week. Officials also blamed unseasonably fast-melting glaciers in several Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts for the coming floods.