KABUL, Afghanistan — Heavy rains and overnight hailstorms killed at least 22 people near Afghanistan's capital, a disaster management official said Sunday.
Mohammad Daim Kakar, who coordinates disaster management for Kabul province, said the rains began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning.
They caused floods that killed at least 20 people in Kabul's Chakardara district just north of the capital, he said, adding that the victims included seven children.
Kakar said another two children died in a flood in the Paghman district west of the capital.
Most of the victims were in cars that were swept away and submerged by the flooding, he said.
He also said at least 10 homes in Chakardara were either swept away or heavily damaged, and that earthmoving equipment had been sent to the area to look for any more victims or survivors buried under the mud.
Houses in Afghanistan are often built of mud and straw, or mud bricks. Heavy rains are uncommon in mid-summer.
Last week flash floods killed about 75 people in five eastern provinces.
