Flash floods in Afghanistan kill at least 20

At least 20 people were killed in flash floods in northeastern ​Afghanistan on Monday, the Taliban-run government said.

The ​death toll was expected to rise, with ⁠100 people still missing on Monday night.

Most ​of the damage was reported from Parun, the ​capital of Nuristan, the Taliban's National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.

At least 80 people were injured, ​according to the authority.

Taliban officials said Monday ​evening that they had launched a search and rescue operation ‌in ⁠the remote province on the Afghan-Pakistani border. Rescuers feared "severe financial and human losses," the National Disaster Management Authority said.

Afghanistan is among the nations most ​vulnerable to ​the impacts ⁠of climate change, which has made some parts of the country more ​drought-prone and exposed others to more ​rainfall.

Deforestation ⁠in Nuristan and other provinces has further worsened flash floods in recent decades because it has ⁠slowed ​the absorption of rainwater into ​the soil.

-Reuters