Heavy rains cause unseasonal floods, kill 39 in Afghanistan

Islamabad: Unseasonal rains and flooding have killed at least 39 people — including nine children – in Afghanistan, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Fourteen other people were wounded, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The rains have caused land to slide, exposing unexploded ordnance from four decades of war and conflict. The mines are being moved and exploded under controlled circumstances to prevent further casualties, said OCHA. This is the third time that the eastern region has experienced flash flooding in less than a month, with 19 people killed and 131 people injured in heavy rains over two days in June.

In eastern Nangarhar and Nuristan, some 500 families were affected. About 800 hectares (close to 2,000 acres) of agricultural land were destroyed, along with four mosques, two canals, five local flour mills, a bridge, 19 km (12 miles) of road and three schools. As many as 500 livestock were killed.