As the rescue operation continued, 110 people were still missing and 34 people were injured in the Kamdesh area of ??Nuristan Province.

Officials said the death toll from the flood in Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan this week has risen to at least 113, and dozens of people are still missing.

On Wednesday, a few days after heavy rains flooded the Kamdesh district in a remote, Taliban-controlled province about 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of the capital Kabul, rescue operations are still ongoing.

Afghan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) spokesperson Abdul Samay Zalbi told the dpa news agency that more than 170 houses were “partially or completely” destroyed, affecting approximately 300 families.

Although his number of injuries was 34, Zabi pointed out that the numbers are preliminary and may change.

Locals look for mudslide victims in Nuristan [Ubidullah Abid/AP Photo]

According to the disaster relief department, the flood also destroyed a major bridge in the area. The department stated that it was unable to provide victims with basic support such as food, temporary shelter and medical support.

“Unfortunately [since] The area is under the control of the Taliban and we cannot send our provincial team to the area,” Tamim Azimi, spokesman for the Ministry of National Disaster Management of Afghanistan, told AFP.

However, an investigation team from the Afghan Red Crescent Society has traveled to the area to assess the damage and the support needed.

Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Baylis reported from Kabul that the United Nations is also trying to enter the area to provide assistance, including clean drinking water.

Since the beginning of May when foreign troops headed by the United States began to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban had already occupied large areas of rural territory and occupied key border crossings. The withdrawal is now close to completion.

Bayliss said that as its fighters gain greater control over these areas, the situation in Nuristan is a “real test” for the Taliban, and if they continue to stay there, it can be subjected to “this What kind of support is provided by the people affected by the “like situation”. Control is there.

Afghanistan is often hit by seasonal floods, destroying houses, farmland and public infrastructure.

In August 2020, flash floods in 13 provinces caused more than 150 deaths.

According to the United Nations, decades of conflict, coupled with environmental degradation and insufficient investment in disaster risk reduction, have made Afghans increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters.

On average, natural disasters affect 200,000 people in the country every year.