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       Rainstorms Kill More Than 130 Across Afghanistan and Pakistan

       Pakistani officials warned of more flooding and heavy rainfall next week, stoking fears of a particularly brutal monsoon season to come.

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       In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the area of Pakistan that appeared to be hardest hit by the rainfall, on Tuesday.Credit...Abdul Majeed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       By Zia ur-Rehman and Christina Goldbaum

       Zia ur-Rehman reported from Islamabad and Christina Goldbaum from London.

       April 18, 2024

       A deluge of unseasonably heavy rains has lashed Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent days, killing more than 130 people across both countries, with the authorities forecasting more flooding and rainfall, and some experts pointing to climate change as the cause.

       In Afghanistan, at least 70 people have been killed in flash floods and other weather-related incidents, while more than 2,600 homes have been destroyed or damaged, according to Mullah Janan Sayeq, a spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management. At least 62 people have died in the storms in neighboring Pakistan, which has been hammered by rainfall at nearly twice the average rate for this time of year, according to Pakistani officials.

       Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the Pakistani region bordering Afghanistan, appears to be the hardest hit. Flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rains have damaged homes and destroyed infrastructure. Photos and videos from the province show roads turned into raging rivers, and homes and bridges being swept away.

       “The rains have caused significant damage,” Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority, said in a phone interview. He added that at least 33 people had died in the province over the past four days, and 336 houses had been destroyed.

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       Around midnight on Monday in Swat Valley, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Akbar Zada woke up to a thunderous crash after a boulder tumbled down a nearby mountain in the rain and destroyed a room of his home where two of his sons were sleeping. The boys, 14 and 16, were both killed.

       “The rain has been relentless these past years, and now it’s taken my sons,” Mr. Zada said in a phone interview.

       The map locates the city of Peshawar, and the district of Swat Valley, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan. It also locates the Pakistani coastal city of Gwadar, in southwestern Balochistan province. Afghanistan is also shown, with Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, and west of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

       SWAT

       VALLEY

       Kabul

       NANGARHAR

       Peshawar

       AFGHANISTAN

       KHYBER-

       PAKHTUNKHWA

       PAKISTAN

       BALOCHISTAN

       INDIA

       Gwadar

       Karachi

       Arabian Sea

       200 miles

       By The New York Times

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       Christina Goldbaum is the Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief for The Times, leading the coverage of the region. More about Christina Goldbaum

       A version of this article appears in print on April 19, 2024, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Deadly Rains Pound Afghanistan and Pakistan Well Ahead of Monsoons. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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