KABUL: At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 remain missing in flooding that hit Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on Monday, officials said.

Only mud remained where riverside shops previously stood in Parun, the provincial capital where residents were searching for their mayor among others.

Twenty bodies have been recovered so far, while more than 80 were injured, Afghanistan’s disaster agency ANDMA said.

Those casualties were reported in Parun and other parts of Nuristan, which borders Pakistan, the agency reported. Government employees including the mayor were among the missing in the town, the governor’s office said.

“Nine dead bodies are recovered,” said Feraidon Samim, spokesman for the Nuristan governor. Both he and the disaster agency said more than 100 remained missing.

Journalists who visited the remote northeastern area last month said a market, shops and other buildings were located near the riverside in Parun.

Ashiqullah Safi, head of Shpoul, an NGO in the town, said the flood had “completely destroyed the municipality” as well as hotels and dozens of shops. Residents were searching the area without equipment, he said, after floodwaters left big boulders in the town.

Dozens of people stood atop the mud while others gathered along a road beside the rushing river, according to a video filmed by another resident and shared with this news agency.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the top spokesman for the Afghan government, confirmed deaths and property damage in Nuristan province. “The relevant agencies are seriously engaged in saving people’s lives and property,” he wrote on X.

ANDMA forecast more rain and storms to come across multiple provinces, warning residents to stay away from riverbanks and other areas with a risk of flooding.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026