KABUL: Severe storms and a rain-triggered landslide have killed at least nine children across southern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said, with residents facing further risks on Thursday as heavy snow hit the country.
Strong wind and heavy rain in Kandahar killed six children on Wednesday, and caused significant financial losses in several districts, the emergency department in the southern province said.
The storms also damaged homes, it said.
In a separate incident in eastern Nuristan province, a landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a house in Quraish village on Wednesday, killing three members of the same family and injuring two others.
“Two 10-year-old girls and a teenage boy were killed,” Nuristan provincial government spokesman Fraidoon Samim said.
In central Ghazni province, an AFP correspondent said that around 80 centimeters (31 inches) of snow fell over the past 24 hours, forcing the closure of markets and blocking roads.
Heavy snow in many provinces of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul has also caused traffic accidents.
Afghanistan frequently experiences deadly floods, landslides and storms, particularly in remote areas with fragile infrastructure, leaving communities vulnerable to extreme weather.
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Storms, heavy rain kill 9 children across Afghanistan
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Storms, heavy rain kill 9 children across Afghanistan
- Residents face further risks on Thursday as heavy snow hit the country
Spain, Portugal brace for fresh storm after flood deaths
- Both countries have issued warnings over the potential fresh floods after inundations blocked hundreds of roads
- Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events
MADRID: Spain and Portugal on Saturday braced for another storm heading for the Iberian peninsula, just days after the floods caused by Storm Leonardo killed at least one person in each country.
The latest depression, christened Storm Marta, has prompted the deployment of more than 26,500 rescuers in Portugal, where the foul weather has led three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote till next week.
Both countries have issued warnings over the potential fresh floods, after inundations blocked hundreds of roads, disrupted trains and forced thousands to evacuate from the rising waters.
Mario Silvestre, commander in Portugal’s civil protection agency, warned that the forecast was “extremely worrying,” as quoted by the Lusa press agency.
His organization fears gusts of wind reaching 110 kilometers per hour after Marta reaches the Portuguese coastline, along with landslides and flash floods.
“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, said.
After flying over flood-hit areas in southern Spain near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that “difficult days” lay ahead for the region as a result of the “very dangerous” weather forecast.
The Socialist premier is due to visit rescuers in Madrid on Saturday.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who paid a visit to the afflicted regions on Friday, warned that the damage exceeded €4 billion ($4.7 billion), according to a still-provisional toll.
Portugal was already reeling from the effects of Storm Kristin, which led to the deaths of five people, injured hundreds and left tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo hit earlier this week.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as the floods and heatwaves that have struck both countries in recent years.
The latest depression, christened Storm Marta, has prompted the deployment of more than 26,500 rescuers in Portugal, where the foul weather has led three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote till next week.
Both countries have issued warnings over the potential fresh floods, after inundations blocked hundreds of roads, disrupted trains and forced thousands to evacuate from the rising waters.
Mario Silvestre, commander in Portugal’s civil protection agency, warned that the forecast was “extremely worrying,” as quoted by the Lusa press agency.
His organization fears gusts of wind reaching 110 kilometers per hour after Marta reaches the Portuguese coastline, along with landslides and flash floods.
“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, said.
After flying over flood-hit areas in southern Spain near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that “difficult days” lay ahead for the region as a result of the “very dangerous” weather forecast.
The Socialist premier is due to visit rescuers in Madrid on Saturday.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who paid a visit to the afflicted regions on Friday, warned that the damage exceeded €4 billion ($4.7 billion), according to a still-provisional toll.
Portugal was already reeling from the effects of Storm Kristin, which led to the deaths of five people, injured hundreds and left tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo hit earlier this week.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as the floods and heatwaves that have struck both countries in recent years.
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