Death toll from snowstorm reaches 119

KABUL, officials said Monday.

The officials announced important roads blocked by snow had been reopened and relief effort accelerated.

Wais Barmak, State Minister for Disaster Management (SMDM told a press conference in Kabul 119 people died and 89 others injured during heavy snowfalls and avalanches in different parts of the country over the past 72 hours.

Barmak added 400 livestock were lost to the disaster that destroyed 190 homes and damaged another 23 homes.

He said the snowstorm was unprecedented in several years as its thickness reached 80 centimeters to three meters in some regions.

He said relevant government organs had launched clearing roads from snow and aid distribution to affected and poor families was underway. The roads’ clearance process may take several days.

Deputy Public Works Minister Mahmod Baligh said more than 80 people stuck in snow at Haji Gag Pass, 150 at Draz Qul Pass and 30 passengers at Kham Kotal Pass in Sar-i-Pul province were rescued.

He said more than 500 passengers stuck in Maqur district of Ghazni province were also rescued and transferred to a safe place.

The highways of Salang, Kabul-Kandahar, Kabul-Jalalabad, Gardiz-Khost, Kabul-Bamyan have been cleaned of snow for traffic in the past 24 hours, Baligh said.

He added clearing snow from more than 7,200 kilometers was the target of this year’s snow cleaning plan and 5,000 kilometers would be cleared by the Ministry of Public Works and the rest by contracted companies.

Public Health Minister Dr. Firozuddin Firoz said 107 districts in 24 proivnces were vulnerable to natural disasters. He said the Ministry of Public Health had delivered medicines and other important health equipment to impassable districts.

A healthcare team equipped with all necessary materials has been sent through helicopter to Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces for treatment of people injured in avalanches, he said.

mds/ma