Heavy rainfall kills three, damages hundreds of homes in Afghanistan

More than three people have died and 750 homes have been damaged over the past two days in Afghanistan due to heavy rainfall, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Saturday.

NDMA spokesman Shafiullah Rahimi said seven others had been injured by the severe weather.

Flash floods caused the most damage in Zara district in the northern province of Balkh.

Seasonal flooding is an annual event in Afghanistan, but decades of conflict, coupled with environmental degradation and insufficient investment in disaster risk reduction have contributed to the increasing vulnerability of Afghans, according to the United Nations.

Rahimi also said on Saturday that the death toll from last week's earthquake had risen to 10. The 6.5-magnitude jolt with the epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan wounded 60 others and damaged 800 houses.