Heavy rain, floods kill at least 45 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan

At least 28 people are killed in Afghanistan and 17 in Pakistan after heavy rainfall causes severe flooding.Heavy rain that has caused severe flooding and landslides has killed at least 45 people in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past five days, authorities say.Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said on Monday that 28 people have been killed in the floods and 49 injured with more than 100 homes destroyed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UN revises Kabul rehab strike toll as Pakistan denies targeting civilianslist 2 of 3Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to temporary Eid al-Fitr ‘pause’ in conflictlist 3 of 3Do Taliban’s drone attacks expose a chink in Pakistan’s armour?end of listMost of the deaths in Afghanistan were reported in central and eastern provinces, including Parwan, Maidan Wardak, Daikundi and Logar, according to ANDMA.The authority added in a statement that weather conditions remained “unstable” in parts of the country and there is a continued risk of more rain and flooding in some areas.“In total, 1,140 families have been affected,” ANDMA said.Police spokesperson Sediqullah Seddiqi told the AFP news agency a 14-year-old boy died after being struck by lightning in the northwestern province of Badghis.He added that in the same province, three people had drowned while trying to gather driftwood to be used for heating.At the same time in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan, 17 people were killed and 56 wounded, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said.A man clears the rubble of his house, which collapsed after heavy rains in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan [Ehsan Khattak/Reuters]Extreme weatherHeavy rainfall has continued to sweep across Afghanistan since Thursday, causing floods and landslides in multiple provinces. The weather prompted the closure of several highways, according to officials in central and eastern Afghanistan. Further rains and storms are forecast for Tuesday.