Floods and Earthquake Kill Nearly 100 in Afghanistan, Worsening Humanitarian Crisis: UN

KABUL/GENEVA – Nearly 100 people have been killed and more than 180 injured in recent floods across Afghanistan, as worsening weather conditions deepen an already severe humanitarian crisis, the United Nations reported on Tuesday.

According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, heavy rains and flash floods have caused widespread destruction, damaging thousands of homes, vast areas of farmland, and key infrastructure across multiple provinces. The deluge has also disrupted access to roads and communication networks, hampering initial relief efforts.

Eastern Nangarhar Province was among the worst-affected areas, where many communities were still struggling to recover from a powerful earthquake that struck just months ago. The compounding disasters have left residents with little time to rebuild between shocks.

In a further blow, the UN also reported a 5.9-magnitude earthquake in the Hindu Kush region, which caused additional casualties and structural damage in the capital, Kabul, and surrounding areas. While smaller in scale than the floods in terms of immediate impact, the quake has compounded the crisis by spreading fear and stretching emergency resources thin.

Humanitarian agencies on the ground have so far assisted more than 8,000 people with food, cash aid, healthcare, and emergency shelter. Additional assessment teams are being deployed to identify urgent needs, particularly in remote highland villages that remain cut off by floodwaters.

Meanwhile, local Afghan authorities have reported significantly higher casualty figures, stating that more than 160 people have been killed and nearly 300 injured — including women and children — in the floods alone. The discrepancy between UN and local figures is attributed to ongoing data collection challenges and communication blackouts in rural zones.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 5,700 families across 31 provinces have been affected, with thousands displaced from their homes. Many are now sheltering in damaged buildings or makeshift tents, with limited access to clean drinking water, raising fears of waterborne diseases.

The UN warned that continued extreme weather including forecasts of more heavy rain in the coming days combined with Afghanistan’s existing vulnerabilities, such as economic collapse, food insecurity, and a fragile health system, is likely to further strain humanitarian resources and increase the needs of affected communities. The organization has called for urgent international funding to prevent the crisis from spiraling further.

 

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