KABUL: At least 50 people are dead following a fresh bout of heavy rain and flooding in central Afghanistan, an official said on Saturday.

Mawlawi Abdul Hai Zaeem, the head of the information department for the central Ghor province, told Reuters that there was no information about how many people were injured in the rain spell that began on Friday, which had also cut off many key roads to the area.

Zaeem added that 2,000 houses were completely destroyed, 4,000 partially damaged, and more than 2,000 shops were underwater in the province’s capital, Feroz-Koh.

Flood emergency ‘remains critical’ in Afghanistan: WHO

Last week, flash floods caused by heavy rains devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 people and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday.

On Wednesday, a helicopter used by the Afghan air force crashed due to “technical issues” during attempts to recover the bodies of people who had fallen into a river in Ghor province, killing one and injuring 12 people, the country’s defence ministry said.

Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters and the United Nations considers it one of countries most vulnerable to climate change.