81 dead and many missing after avalanches, flash floods and snow hit Pakistan and Afghanistan: Almost a 1,000 villages cut off without electricity and water by unprecedented snow in India

The News.com.pk

At least 57 people were killed and others were missing after avalanches in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir over the last 24 hours, senior government officials said on Tuesday. Two officials said many villagers were still stranded in the avalanches in the Neelum valley area following heavy rains that also triggered landslides. Many people were reported missing and feared dead as rescue efforts got underway, one of the officials said. Reuters

In Pakistan, where 30 people were reported killed, much of the damage struck southwestern Balochistan province. Imran Zarkon, chief of provincial disaster management, said 14 died there in the past 24 hours, mainly when roofs collapsed amid heavy snowfall. A heavy snowfall had forced closures of many highways, with some parts in the province under six inches of snow.

Eleven people were killed in Punjab province, battered by heavy rains, and five others died in the AJK areas, officials with the state-run emergency service said.

In Afghanistan, harsh weather conditions led to the death of at least 24 people, according to the ministry for disaster management. The ministry’s spokesman, Ahmad Tameem Azimi added that flash floods destroyed 131 residential houses located mostly in the country’s south, west and northern provinces.

Hasibullah Shaikhani, a press officer with the disaster management ministry, said most highways in Afghanistan were closed due to heavy snowfall and fears of avalanches. Residents of Kabul, where temperatures dropped to-15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), abandoned driving and struggled to get to work on snow-covered roads. At least 30 people died and several others received injuries in different parts of the country during three days of heavy rain and snowfall till Monday. The News.com.pk

More than 900 villages of Uttarakhand are without electricity and water as unprecedented heavy snowfall has disrupted normal life in the state over the past few days. An official of the state government said: “The electricity and water supply is disrupted in more than 900 villages and 50 tourists are stranded in a number of places due to the closure of roads. Traffic is blocked on around 100 highways across the state.” With roads turning slippery traffic movement has come to a standstill in the upper reaches and the administration is trying to fix things. The Sentinel

Extreme Weather 2020

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