Heavy snow and rainfall over the past three days have killed more than 60 people and injured over 100 across Afghanistan, the country's disaster management authority said on Saturday (January 24, 2026), as authorities in the impoverished country struggled to open roads and gain access to cut-off villages.
National Disaster Management Authority spokesman Yousaf Hammad said 61 people had died and 110 were injured, while 458 homes had been completely or partially destroyed and hundreds of animals had died in 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The numbers, he said, could change as authorities gathered more information from the provinces.
Flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Afghanistan kill at least 17 people
Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that trigger flash floods, often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.
Decades of conflict coupled with poor infrastructure, a struggling economy, deforestation and the intensifying effects of climate change have amplified the impact of such disasters, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges or heavy snowfall.
