Rescue crews in Afghanistan are once again doing the grim work of sifting through rubble after flash floods tore through the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, killing 23 people, injuring 80, and leaving more than 100 missing, according to the Afghanistan national disaster management authority. The provincial capital, Parun, was among the areas hit, with an undetermined number of buildings collapsing under the deluge.

Because why have one natural disaster when you can have a whole season of them? The ministry of transport and civil aviation’s meteorology department has forecast more extreme weather - heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds with dust and sand, and flash floods - across 10 of the country’s 34 provinces. They’ve helpfully advised people to avoid riverbanks and other flood-prone areas, which is a bit like telling someone to avoid the giant hole they're already falling into.

Afghanistan, it turns out, is highly vulnerable to extreme weather - a fact it demonstrates with depressing regularity. In 2024, springtime flash floods killed more than 300 people. Earlier this year, at least 110 people died from widespread flooding and landslides. Decades of conflict, poor infrastructure, a struggling economy, deforestation, and the intensifying effects of climate breakdown have all conspired to make these disasters worse, especially in remote areas where homes made of mud offer about as much protection as a sternly worded letter to the weather.