At least 80 dead in Afghan avalanches

About 300 people have been gathered to help with the rescue, with some of them using shovels and their bare hands to dig.

KABUL // Avalanches triggered by heavy snowfalls have killed more than 80 people in Afghanistan and the death toll is expected to rise with the bad weather set to last for two more days after an unusually dry winter led to fears of drought.

Officials warned yesterday of an imminent humanitarian emergency in areas most severely hit by the bad weather as snow swept through villages.

“We haven’t seen this much snow, or this many avalanches, for 30 years,” said Abdul Rahman Kabiri, acting governor of the mountainous province of Panjshir, north of Kabul, where more than 30 people were killed in avalanches.

“If the central government doesn’t provide humanitarian support, machinery and food soon, this will turn to a disaster,” he said, adding that more than 20 people had been injured.

Deadly avalanches are common in Afghanistan’s high mountainous areas in winter. One in the remote far north-east in 2012 killed 145 people.

Abdul Rahman Kabiri, the Panjshir provincial governor, said that residents and government workers were digging by hand.

“We have gathered 300 people to help with the rescue, but we don’t have the equipment we need and people are using shovels and their bare hands to reach the trapped people,” he said.

About 15 people were pulled from the snow suffering frostbite and other injuries, the governor said.

Despite bringing death and misery to so many people, the snow is vital for Afghanistan, where much of the rural population dependent on agriculture relies on snow melting in the mountains to sustain crops in the spring and summer.

“Now we are optimistic about the agriculture situation around the country,” said Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Lotfullah Rashid.

“There will be snow and rain for several days, so the country won’t face a lack of water during the coming year.”

Afghanistan has had a largely mild and dry winter, but large parts of the north experienced heavy snowfalls over the last 48 hours.

Parts of Kabul were hit by power cuts on Tuesday and yesterday after snowstorms and avalanches damaged power cables in the Salang Pass, which links the capital to the country’s north.

The pass remained closed to traffic yesterday.

Despite the billions of dollars in aid from the international community after the collapse of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains among the world’s poorest nations after decades of conflict.

Rescue efforts after disasters such as avalanches and flash floods, which often hit as snows melt in the spring, are frequently hampered by lack of equipment.

Poor infrastructure makes it difficult for rescue teams to reach isolated areas.

* Reuters, Agence France-Presse