Afghans search for dozens missing, some with bare hands, after devastating flood in Nuristan province

Rescuers were struggling to reach residents trapped under mud and boulders in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, after a major flood smashed through one province, killing at least 23 people.

Around 100 people are unaccounted for, the national disaster agency and the provincial governor’s office said, also updating the death toll from Monday’s deluge.

An AFP journalist saw dozens of people gathered in remote Parun, the capital of Nuristan province, using wooden poles and their bare hands to search for the missing.

Afghan men stand amidst destroyed shops after flash floods hit Parun town in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on July 21, 2026. — AFP

Farid Gul Zaheer, a 34-year-old pharmacist, said he had “never witnessed such a dangerous flood”.

“It felt like there was an earthquake, and I heard children and people screaming,” he told AFP, after getting injured while trying to flee up the mountain.

On Tuesday, a bulldozer was of limited use in clearing some debris in Parun, where the flood had buried multiple shops and brought huge boulders that smashed into buildings.

Afghan men clear the rubble of destroyed shops after flash floods hit Parun town in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, on July 21, 2026. — AFP

Parun’s mayor and other government employees were among the missing, the governor’s office said on Monday.

Zakirullah Zaki, manager of the Spogmai Hotel, said it felt like “an act of God struck us”.

“The rest of the hotels, markets, and shops were completely destroyed,” the 29-year-old told AFP.

The Spogmai was still standing, surrounded by destruction, and the manager’s missing younger brother was found.

‘Traumatised’

Juma Khan Nayel, communications chief for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, described a “devastating situation” with water rising to unprecedented levels.

They have deployed dozens of volunteers who are working by hand, using shovels.

“Right now, urgently, we are supplying some food, water and tents for those whose homes have been destroyed,” he told AFP.

An Afghan boy sits with his belongings amidst the rubble following flash floods in Parun town in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, on July 21, 2026. — AFP

Afghanistan’s defence ministry said the military had been deployed to the area to support the relief effort, while the United Nations said it was assessing the disaster.

Zaheer, the pharmacist, said he had “lost everything”.

“Everyone is traumatised, they didn’t sleep all night,” he said.

Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to climate change and flooding has increased, according to the head of the country’s environmental protection agency.

Environmental problems “have severely affected the Afghan people and have contributed to a humanitarian crisis in the country”, Mawlavi Matiul Haq Khalis said this month. ...