Flash Floods, Quake Batter Afghanistan

A pair of natural disasters have struck Afghanistan: Flash floods in the north killed at least 13 people, and a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country's northeast and neighboring Pakistan today left two people dead and nearly 40 injured, officials say. The flooding deaths occurred in Balkh province, where heavy rains yesterday sent deluges down hillsides of villages. Heavy rains caused similar flash floods this morning in Sari Pul, the neighboring province to the south, damaging more than 100 homes, according to the United Nations.

The quake caused casualties in two neighboring provinces of Afghanistan that border Pakistan and was felt in Kabul and as far away as Islamabad. Earthquakes are common in northeastern Afghanistan, and many occur in the Hindu Kush and broader region as a result of the collision of the India and Eurasia continental plates. (More Afghanistan stories.)