Death toll rises to 15 in avalanche-hit Tajikistan

A series of avalanches have
killed five more people in eastern Tajikistan, the Central Asian
nation’s government has said, bringing the death toll
over the past two days to 15 and forcing hundreds of families
from their homes.

Thursday’s statement came after most of the avalanches hit the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous
region, which borders China and Afghanistan, and where more than
400 households have been relocated away from dangerous areas.

Avalanches have hit homes as well as roads, the government
said, and all international traffic has been suspended.

The mayor of provincial capital Khorog, Rizo Nazarzoda,
urged its 30,000 residents to stay at home as heavy snow and
rain fell.

Over 90 percent of the Central Asian territory consists of mountains where avalanches and mudslides kill dozens of people every year. 

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