At least 50 dead in Afghanistan flash floods: ministry

Flash flooding following heavy rainfall has claimed more than 50 lives across Afghanistan in recent days, government officials said on Wednesday.

The flooding has damaged properties and livestock, affecting 17 of the country’s 34 provinces.

"Following the heavy rainfall, waves of muddy water engulfed 17 provinces, which killed 50 people,” said Tamim Azimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s state minister for disaster management. Six have been injured and 15 others are missing, the spokesman added.

Herat in western Afghanistan is the worst affected province, where 22 people died, followed by central Ghor.

Azimi described the flooding as having swept entire farms and some 160 houses, with 460 other houses at partially damaged.

Read more: Thousands of Afghans flee homes as fighting erupts after US pullout

Nearly 500 families have been displaced as a result. Distribution of food and non-food aid has begun in a limited capacity to assist the affected families, according to the spokesman.

Families of the bereaved would receive 50,000 Afghanis ($644), he said.

Heavy flooding is an annual occurrence during the spring and summer months in Afghanistan. Remote areas, where infrastructure is poor, are often the worst hit.

The deaths come as Afghan government forces are fending off a major Taliban offensive in the south of the country while the US military withdraw their troops. The fighting in southern Helmand province has led thousand to flee their homes for Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital.