Flash floods swept through Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province on Monday, killing at least 20 people and leaving more than 100 unaccounted for, according to the country’s disaster management authority. The provincial capital Parun and surrounding districts bore the brunt of the deluge, which struck without warning after heavy monsoon rains.

Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said 20 bodies had been recovered and more than 80 people injured. The governor’s office in Nuristan, however, put the confirmed death toll at nine, with 105 missing. Both sources agreed that the mayor of Parun and several government employees were among those still unaccounted for. A local NGO head told international news agencies that the flood had “completely destroyed the municipality” as well as hotels and dozens of shops, leaving large boulders strewn across the town. Residents were searching the debris without heavy equipment, he said.

Search and rescue operations were under way in the remote border province, which lies on the frontier with Pakistan. ANDMA warned of “severe financial and human losses” and urged citizens to avoid flood-prone areas. The discrepancy in the death toll could not immediately be reconciled; officials in Kabul and the provincial capital were both citing ongoing recovery efforts.

Afghanistan is among the countries most exposed to extreme weather events, with flash floods a recurring threat during the summer monsoon. The head of the country’s environmental protection agency said this month that flooding had increased and was contributing to a humanitarian crisis. The same monsoon system has caused deadly floods and landslides in India and Nepal in recent days, killing at least 25 people in northern and northeastern India and 27 in Nepal since mid-June. The Afghan meteorology department forecast further heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash floods for ten of the country’s 34 provinces.