Afghanistan flood death toll rises as rescuers search for missing

Rescue crews searched through rubble and mud in eastern Nuristan province on Tuesday after flash flooding in Afghanistan killed at least 23 people and left more than 100 missing. Residents and rescue workers inspected damaged buildings as teams raced to reach the area, where the floodwaters had already ripped through homes and left families waiting for news of the missing.

The destruction struck after the season’s first heavy rains and snowfall ended a prolonged dry spell. In mountainous eastern Afghanistan, that kind of sudden shift can turn deadly fast: steep terrain funnels water downhill, weak houses collapse under pressure, and muddy debris blocks roads before emergency crews can move through.

The deadliness of the flooding also reflects the limits of Afghanistan’s infrastructure and emergency capacity. In many communities, homes are built from materials that do not stand up to fast-moving water, leaving entire neighborhoods exposed when walls cave in and roofs give way. Roads can wash out in minutes, communications are often unreliable, and local responders are left digging through collapsed structures with too little equipment and too little time.

Afghanistan remains highly exposed to extreme weather and is expected to stay one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies in 2026. Floods can wipe out shelter, food stores, livestock and the small assets that keep rural families going. When irrigation channels are damaged and market routes are cut off, the damage spreads beyond the immediate disaster zone.

A day earlier, monsoon-driven flash flooding had killed at least 20 people across the country. The recovery effort is focused on finding survivors, pulling bodies from the debris and accounting for entire households lost in a matter of hours.