A flash flood north of Kabul swept away almost everything in its path, killing at least 100 people and injuring more than 100. All that remains on Wednesday is mud and backhoe loaders that are busy finding corpses in the streets of the Afghan town of Charikar.

In the capital of the province of Parwan, about sixty kilometers from Kabul, the piles of stones tell of the houses destroyed in the disaster, around 500 according to the authorities, located in several districts of the city.

According to the Ministry of Disaster Management, 100 people died and around 100 were injured. Figures set to change in the hours to come.

A balance sheet that grows over the hours

"At around 2 a.m. (9:30 p.m. GMT Tuesday), flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall hit Charikar," Parwan provincial government spokeswoman Whaida Shahkar told AFP. 72 dead and more than a hundred injured.

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"When the flood came down from the mountain, it took all the houses with it," observes Safiullah Rajabi, a notable from the Charikar district most affected by the disaster.

Rescuers, aided by earthmoving machines, continued to search the rubble, watched by dozens of residents wading through the mud.

Victims stranded under the rubble

"We have reports of people still trapped under the debris," Ministry of Disaster Management spokesman Tamim Azimi said.

Head of state Ashraf Ghani has ordered emergency aid to be sent to Charikar, the presidency said in a statement.

Flood disasters are common in the country, especially in poor rural areas where houses are often fragile and built in risky areas.

Rescues and aid deliveries after natural disasters, especially in isolated areas, are often hampered by the lack of equipment and infrastructure in this country impoverished by 40 years of war.

According to the Ministry of Disaster Management, flash floods were recorded overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in at least five other provinces of the country, without however causing any victims.

With AFP

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