KABUL, Afghanistan — Flash floods have swept northern Afghanistan, killing at least 37 people, Afghan and U.N. authorities said Saturday.
More than 100 homes, hundreds of acres of farmland and farm animals were been destroyed by the floods that followed four or five days of heavy rain in the region.
Abdul Hai Khateby, who is the spokesman in Ghor province, said Saturday that 24 people have been killed in four districts, including the provincial capital of Chaghcharan.
“Many, many houses have been destroyed, and there are reports of lots of cattle and other animals being killed,” Khateby said. “It is cloudy and we expect more rain.”
The provincial spokesman of Badakhshan, Abdul Marouf Rasekh, said 13 people were killed Friday night in Yaftal district and four other districts have been affected.
The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said an estimated 135 houses in Badakhshan had been destroyed, forcing residents to flee.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said many of the unpaved, rutted roads in the area have been severely flooded, making aid distribution difficult.