16 Feb 2023 11:41

Fifteen people killed in avalanches in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE. Feb 16 (Interfax) - The latest avalanches in Tajikistan have claimed the lives of 15 people, the press center of the Tajik Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense said on Thursday.

As reported, a large avalanche caused by heavy snowfalls hit residential buildings in the city of Khorog, the administrative center of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, early on February 15. Four houses were destroyed and another 35 houses and five business facilities were partly damaged. The avalanche also killed 14 people in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and one in the Varzob district and injured another 12.

Meteorologists forecast that a high risk of avalanches will persist in the western districts of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, the Gissar Range and on the Dushanbe-Khorog, Dushanbe-Khujand, Dushanbe-Lakhsh, Khorog-Murgab, and Khorog-Ishkashim motorways due to a warm spell of the past few days and heavy precipitation.

Twenty-seven avalanches were recorded in Tajikistan from February 13 to February 15, the committee said. People from 11 households in the Vanj district, 335 households in the Rushan district, 10 in the Shugnan district, 39 in the Roshtkala district, and 17 in the city of Khorog have been evacuated to safe places.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday ordered the Tajik prime minister, the administration of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, the Interior Ministry and the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense to take measures to promptly deal with the aftermath of the natural disaster and to provide financial assistance to the affected families.