Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the disaster management ministry, said extensive damage had been caused to property and farmland.
Twenty-six of the deaths occurred in Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province, 46 kilometres east of Kabul, after the rain washed away hundreds of houses, most of them built of earth.
Four more people died in Kabul, and a total of over 70 were injured in both the districts.
Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said urgent aid was being rushed to the main disaster zone in Jalrez district.
Mujahid issued a condolence message, calling on aid groups and the Kabul administration to help the bereaved families.
Although Afghanistan lies on the western edge of the monsoon footprint, flash floods happen regularly during the wet season as heavy rain courses down dry riverbeds.
Rahimi, the disaster ministry spokesman, told a presser that 604 houses had been fully or partially damaged and hundreds of acres of agricultural land and orchards destroyed in Jalrez since Friday.Heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan has killed at least 32 people and left dozens missing, according to a Taliban spokesman and local officials.Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Sunday that around 40 people are missing after the flash flooding late Saturday night in the Jalrez district of Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul.
He added that all relevant authorities have been ordered to provide necessary assistance to the people in the affected areas.
The provincial governor's office in a statement said that hundreds of homes are either damaged or destroyed and the missing people are believed to be under the rubble of collapsed homes.
The statement also said that hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were washed out and destroyed and the highway between the capital Kabul and the central Bamiyan province is also closed due to the floods
At least nine people were killed in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the last 48 hours due to heavy rainfall while an emergency was declared in the province’s Lower and Upper Chitral districts till August 15.
The rain continued intermittently through the day, resulting in a “large-scale devastation” in the district. The deluge also triggered flash floods in Chitral, which washed away bridges, roads, and livestock.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, several areas of the country are likely to continue to receive rain until July 26.
The latest report issued by KP’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said nine people had died over the last 24 hours, including two in Swat, two in Battagram, four in Mansehra and one in Buner.
The report further said that seven people had been injured, including three in Swat, three in Battagram and one in Mansehra.
The PDMA said nine houses had been fully damaged while 67 were partially damaged.
Separately, a notification issued by the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department said that the deputy commissioners of both districts had requested for an “emergency” to be declared in order to enable them to “launch immediate rescue and relief activities”.
Therefore, the provincial government declared a rain emergency in the two districts with immediate effect, adding that it would remain in place till August 15 “for provision of relief [and] restoration of damaged communication network and water supply”.
Meanwhile, KP Interim Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan directed the relief department and the district administration to remain on “high alert”.
He directed authorities to immediately launch relief and rescue activities and to ensure that aid was provided to the affectees.
The chief minister also ordered for the affected people to be moved to safer locations and asserted that the provincial government would help them “in every possible way”.
4 killed in landslide in GB’s Skardu
Separately, four people of the same family lost their lives while one was injured in a landslide in Gilgit Baltistan’s Skardu district, police said.
Skardu Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Mirza Hasan said a family hailing from the Astore district was heading to Gilgit from Skardu when the landslide occurred.
He added that as the family fled their car for safety, they got caught in another landslide, which killed three women and a child.
SSP Hasan further said that officials could not reach the affected family immediately as the highway was blocked at four points due to landslides triggered by rainfall.
Rescue teams are trying to reach the site of the incident to recover the injured and the bodies, he added.
Punjab issues red alert
Punjab interim Information Minister Amir Mir announced the provincial government’s decision to issue a red alert in view of the arising flood situation.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore alongside the irrigation secretary and PDMA director general, Mir highlighted that water released by India had raised the water level of Pakistan’s rivers.
“Indian dams on the Ravi and Sutlej rivers are close to overflowing,” he said. “A flash flood wave of 22,000 cusecs is passing through Shahdara”.
Mir further said India could release water toward Pakistan anytime, adding that populations along the rivers would be evacuated when the flooding risk increased.
“In Lahore, there is a risk of the riverside population drowning like in 1988,” the interim information minister said. “If the rains continue, there is a risk of flooding in the Ravi and Sutlej rivers.”
He said caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi had directed the district administration to prepare a flood relief plan.
“Illegal settlements built near rivers will be evacuated in case of emergency,” Mir said. “An alternative plan to evacuate the population and shift it to a new place is ready.”
He requested the people to cooperate with the district administration, adding that the PDMA and other concerned authorities were on high alert in view of the flood situation.
3 die in Karachi in rain-related incidents
Meanwhile, three people, including a minor boy, died in rain-related incidents in Karachi.
The boy died while five others were injured when a wall of a house collapsed due to the impact of rains in Ittehad Town on Sunday evening, according to area Station House Officer Imdad Panhwar.
The officer said that the house was located in a hilly area near Khyber Chowk where the wall collapsed and fell down on six people, including five children.
They were taken to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi where doctors pronounced seven-year-old Irfan Rehmat as dead.
In another rain-related incident, a young man was electrocuted in Surjani Town.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said Shakeel Ahmed died of electric shock due to a rain-related incident in Rozi Goth near Daulat-i-Mustafa Masjid.
In the third incident, Danish Waleed, 32, died when he was electrocuted inside a company at Gulshan Chowk near Alam Kanta in Ittehad Town, according to a statement from an Edhi Foundation spokesperson.