Heavy Floods Hit Afghanistan, Some Deaths

Heavy floods have killed at least seven people in Afghanistan, destroyed houses and made several hundred more homeless.

Heavy floods have killed at least seven people in Afghanistan, destroyed houses and made several hundred more homeless, officials said on Sunday.

The waters also destroyed thousands of hectares of land and washed away or damaged key bridges in several parts of the country including the capital.

At least seven were killed in the western province of Herat on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.

"Six hundred people urgently need to be evacuated by air and are exposed to danger from rising waters in Uruzgan province," a ministry official said, referring to a southern province.

The rains have been the heaviest for years in drought-stricken, mountainous Afghanistan.

Rains also caused avalanches and landslides in two northeastern areas where nearly 20 people lost their lives last week, officials said.