Afghanistan: 40 Killed Due to Heavy Rains

Officials from the Taliban reported today, Tuesday, that "at least 40 people have died, and approximately 350 others have been injured due to the heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan." Sharafat Zaman Amarkhal, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, confirmed that 40 people died in a storm on Monday, and 347 injured individuals were transported for treatment to the regional hospital in Nangarhar from Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and surrounding areas. Among the deceased were five members of the same family who died when the roof of their house collapsed in the Surkh Rod district, according to provincial spokesman Sediqullah Qureshi. Four other family members were injured. Qureshi stated that "about 400 homes and 60 electricity poles were damaged across Nangarhar province," noting that power was cut in many areas, and communications in Jalalabad city have weakened, confirming that the damages are still being assessed. In a separate incident, the Taliban's official news agency, Bakhtar, reported that at least 17 people died, and 34 others were injured when a bus overturned on Tuesday morning on the main highway linking Kabul and Balkh in Baghlan province in the north of the country. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but poor road conditions and reckless driving are often blamed for such incidents.