Central Asia avalanches

This item appears on page 18 of the April 2017 issue.

A series of avalanches in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan killed more than 100 people in early February. Most deadly was an avalanche that struck a small village in the northeastern Afghani province of Nuristan, killing 53 people.

Extreme winter weather in the northern areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan caused dangerous traveling conditions, with reports of people freezing to death in their cars after roads were blocked by snow. In Afghanistan’s capital, the international airport was closed due to ice on the runways.