Death toll from Afghanistan's rain, hail rises to 39: officials

The death toll from recent heavy rain and hail in three Afghan provinces has risen by 10 to 39, disaster management officials said on Wednesday.

Flash floods ripped through western Farah province on Tuesday, washing away 21 people, while three more were killed when a hail storm caused their house to collapse.

Further east, six people were killed in Helmand province, including a child struck by lightning, and nine in Kandahar province.

Several provinces in Afghanistan have been grappling with long-term drought, including flood-hit Farah, since 2018.

"It's constantly raining and snowing in most of the provinces, which has reduced the drought," said Abdullah Jan Sayeq, spokesman for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority.

"This will enrich the water infrastructure. Agriculture will be improved and will have positive effects on livestock."

Afghanistan is among the poorest countries in the world after decades of war and is particularly exposed to the effects of climate change, which scientists say is spurring extreme weather.

It is ranked as the country sixth most vulnerable to climate change.

Drought, floods, land degradation and declining agricultural productivity are key threats, according to the UN.

Flash floods in May last year killed hundreds and swamped swaths of agricultural land in Afghanistan, where 80 percent of people depend on farming to survive.