World

Heavy snow, rainfall kills 61 in Afghanistan: officials

By AAP Newswire

Jan 25, 2026

Kabul — Afghan authorities are struggling to gain access to cut-off villages following heavy snowfall. -EPA

Heavy snow and rainfall over the past three days has killed more than 60 people and injured about 100 across Afghanistan, the country's disaster management authority says.

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Authorities in the impoverished country have 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.

Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that triggers flash floods often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time.

In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said Afghanistan would "remain one of the world's largest humanitarian crises in 2026".

The UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $US1.7 billion ($A2.5 billion) appeal to assist nearly 18 million people in urgent need in the country.