Heavy rain and snowfall kills 39 in Afghanistan

The recent heavy snowfall has blocked communication lines in many provinces and regions.

Kabul:

At least 39 people were killed and more than 30 injured in Afghanistan’s provinces hit by heavy rain and snowfall, Khama Publishing reported on Monday.

The recent heavy snowfall has blocked communication lines in many provinces and regions.

Disaster Management Ministry spokesman Janan Sayek said thousands of livestock also died due to the snowfall.

“Recent snowfall and rain have completely or partially destroyed 637 homes and claimed the lives of 14,000 livestock,” he added.

Notably, the Salang Expressway was reopened to passenger vehicles on Monday after four days of snowfall and blizzard.

These incidents demonstrate how important crisis management and adequate planning are, as being unprepared can harm people and property.

The consequences of recent snowfall have highlighted the need to improve infrastructure resilience and disaster response mechanisms to effectively mitigate future risks.

Additionally, statistics obtained by TOLOnews from Balkh and Faryab provinces indicate that the recent snowfall has had a devastating impact on livestock, resulting in the death of nearly 10,000 animals.

Abdul Qadir, a resident of Sarpur, expressed the general anxiety among the people, saying: “The snow has been falling and it is heavy. People are anxious because their livestock have suffered losses. Many roads are blocked and almost There was no movement.”

Another resident, Amanullah, stressed the urgent need for government assistance, especially for those affected by the plight of blocked roads and hungry livestock.

In response to the crisis, Afghanistan announced the establishment of a committee composed of various ministries to address losses, especially to livestock owners. The authorities have allocated 50 million Afghans to support livestock owners in Balkh, Jawzjan, Badghis, Faryab and Herat provinces.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)