At least 20 people were killed in sudden flash floods in northeastern Afghanistan on Monday, officials from the government formed by the Taliban movement said, Reuters reports.

The death toll is expected to rise: as of Monday evening, about 100 people were listed as missing.

According to a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority, the main damage was recorded in the city of Parun, the administrative center of Nuristan province. According to the agency, at least 80 people were injured.

Officials said on Monday evening that a search-and-rescue operation had begun in the remote province on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rescuers fear “serious financial and human losses,” the authority уточнили in a statement.

Afghanistan is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which has made some regions of the country more prone to drought and others to heavy rainfall.

Deforestation in Nuristan and other provinces in recent decades has only worsened the flash flood problem, as the destruction of trees slows the absorption of rainwater into the soil.