At Least 450 Die in Afghan Floods
KABUL, Afghanistan — Monsoon rains sent a wall of water more than 30 feet high crashing through valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, leaving at least 450 people dead and 500 missing, a British relief group reported Thursday.
It said the death toll from the flash floods could reach 3,000, with rescue workers just starting to dig bodies out of six feet of mud.
Afghan radio independently reported at least 400 people killed.
The floods wiped out entire villages, destroying orchards, irrigation canals and up to 1,000 homes, said Guy Willoughby, head of the British relief group Halo Trust.
Officials did not know exactly when the estimated 33-foot-high wall of water swept through the area, about 55 miles northeast of Kabul, the capital. The Defense Ministry said it believed the floods hit early Wednesday.
The flood occurred at the end of the monthlong monsoon season, when rivers overflow easily.
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