Flash floods kill 87 Afghans in a week

KABUL - Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed 87 people in Afghanistan in the past week as aid agencies were still trying to rush relief supplies to the affected areas, officials said Sunday.

The most affected areas were western provinces of Ghor and Herat where the flooding, which began last Tuesday, killed 43 people, said Ahmad Shekib Hamraz, an official with the Afghan National Disaster Management Commission.

At least 44 other people were killed in northern and central provinces of the country in the past week, while 16 others were missing, he said, adding that 240 people were injured.

Nearly 9,500 livestock and more than 5,000 houses were destroyed, while 2,800 families were seeking shelter in the provincial capital cities, officials said.

Several roads linking the remote areas to provincial capitals were washed away by the floods, making it more difficult for authorities to transport supplies and rescue teams to the affected areas.

NATO forces and Afghan aid agencies were still trying to rush supplies to affected people by air, Afghan and NATO military officials said.

A mountainous country, Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters. Nearly 200 people were killed in avalanches at the beginning of this year.