KABUL, March 19 (Reuters) - At least 17 people have been killed in Afghanistan in an avalanche and floods triggered by heavy rain and several villages were inundated, officials said on Monday.

Twelve people, including women and children, were killed in the avalanche in the central province of Ghor on Sunday, deputy-governor Ikramuddin, who uses only one name, said.

Five people died in flash floods in the western province of Badghis, also on Sunday, another official said.

Floods had also hit several villages in Uruzgan province and NATO-led troops had launched rescue operations, the alliance said in a statement.

Aircraft had been deployed to evacuate about 1,000 people in the province as the Helmand river, which runs through Uruzgan, was rising, it said.

The rains had also damaged or destroyed several mud houses in the rugged and remote province, an Afghan official said.

Many parts of drought-stricken Afghanistan have received heavy rain in recent days, residents said.

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