Rescue teams and residents searched through mud and rubble in Nuristan after flash floods killed at least 23 people, left more than 100 missing and injured about 80. Parun, the provincial capital, was among the hardest hit and remains difficult to access. Officials warned severe weather could continue across 10 provinces, while long-term factors — deforestation, weakened emergency capacity since 2021 and a warming climate — have amplified the damage. The death toll may rise as rescuers reach isolated villages.
Desperate Search After Devastating Flash Floods in Nuristan Leaves 23 Dead and Over 100 Missing
An Afghan man sits near the rubble of a house after flash floods in Parun, Nuristan (AFP/Getty)
Rescue teams and local residents spent a second day digging through mud, rubble and collapsed homes in remote Nuristan province after sudden flash floods struck on Monday, killing at least 23 people, leaving more than 100 missing and injuring around 80, officials said.
Parun, the provincial capital, was among the worst-affected areas. Officials warned the death toll could rise as search teams reach isolated villages cut off by the deluge and debris-laden rivers.
Local Rescue Efforts Hampered by Terrain
Nuristan is one of Afghanistan’s most isolated provinces: a thinly populated region of steep valleys and forests along the Pakistan border where roads are poor and many settlements cling to mountainsides. The harsh terrain has slowed the arrival of help from Kabul, forcing residents to join emergency teams. An AFP reporter described scores of people in Parun using wooden poles and their bare hands to search for the missing.
People gather as an excavator clears debris following flash floods in Parun, Nuristan, Afghanistan (Reuters)
"It felt like there was an earthquake, and I heard children and people screaming," said Farid Gul Zaheer, a 34-year-old pharmacist who was injured while scrambling up a mountainside to escape the floods.
Severe Weather Forecast And Warnings
The meteorology department warned severe weather could persist for several days, forecasting heavy rain, thunderstorms, dusty winds and additional flash flooding in 10 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Authorities urged people to avoid riverbanks and other high-risk areas.
Why Floods Cause Such Devastation
Afghanistan sits on the western fringe of the Asian monsoon. Although it receives far less overall rainfall than neighboring India or Pakistan, sudden intense downpours send water rushing down dry riverbeds and narrow valleys with little warning. Rural homes—often built of mud and stone—offer scant protection when walls of water and debris arrive.
Decades of conflict, a collapsed economy, widespread deforestation and the absence of flood defences have magnified each event’s impact. Tree cover in the eastern mountains has been extensively removed for timber and fuel, stripping root systems and soil that would normally slow runoff and reduce landslides.
Residents and rescue workers inspect buildings damaged by heavy flooding in the province of Nuristan, Afghanistan (AP)
Weakened Response Capacity
Emergency response capacity has been weakened since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, when international donors froze assets and scaled back development funding. Aid agencies report chronic shortfalls and remote rescue services often lack heavy equipment and specialist capacity.
Climate Link And Historical Context
Scientists say a warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the intensity of extreme rainfall and producing heavier, shorter bursts of rain. Afghanistan contributes a negligible share of global greenhouse gas emissions but remains among the nations least able to cope with climate-driven disasters.
Large floods are recurring: Nuristan suffered at least 113 deaths in 2021 floods, more than 300 fatalities occurred in flash floods across several provinces in spring 2024, and at least 110 people died in floods and landslides earlier this year.
Rescue operations continue amid fears that the casualty figures will rise as teams reach cut-off communities and heavy equipment reaches the region.
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