"The bodies of four men and a woman were found in Ismail Khail district," Mohammed Zaman, deputy police chief of Khost province, told AFP, adding that only one had been identified.

"Thirty-six people were caught in a little island in the middle of a river and had to spend the night there. They were rescued Thursday morning," he added.

Khost authorities said the floods claimed lives and caused damage because many trees on nearby mountains had been chopped down for fire wood.

In mid-June flash floods and storms left 48 dead as they swept 12 provinces in northeastern, northern and eastern Afghanistan.