Flash Floods Kill At Least 15 In Western Afghanistan

(RFE/RL) November 17, 2006 -- An Afghan government official says that flash floods in western Afghanistan have killed at least 15 people and left scores missing.

The official, Mirza Ahmad, said that heavy rains in the Balamurghab and Ghormach districts of Badghis Province had caused floods to sweep through several villages, destroying homes and leaving around 1,000 people homeless.

Rescue workers are now in the affected areas, searching for around 50 missing people.

A Health Ministry official, Ahmad Shah Shokohmand, says nearly 50 bodies were reportedly recovered near the town of Balamurghab, near the border with Turkmenistan. Officials have not, however, been able to verify the reports.

An estimated 150 homes were also destroyed by flooding in the neighboring province of Herat.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says it is working with the government to send relief aid to the devastated areas.

(AP, AFP, Reuters)