Death toll from cold, snow mounts to 926 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Feb 16 (KUNA) — The number of Afghans killed by the chilly weather continued in the snow-covered Afghanistan has reached almost 1,000 since the beginning of the winter this year.
About a fortnight back, the Health Ministry had said that some 600 people and thousands of cattle have expired while hundreds more people living in remote areas of Afghanistan have been cut off from the big cities due to the excessive snowfall in the impoverished country.
The National Disaster Management Committee Saturday said 926 people were confirmed dead according to the figures received by them from different parts of the country.
Many people are still trapped in the snow-covered areas and the Afghan government, in cooperation with officials of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations are trying to reach them and provide them emergency assistance like food items, medicines and warm clothes.
Some areas in the country’s southern region were already affected by the ever-increasing insurgency while the snow further increased the problems of the people of those areas. Officials said the worst-affected area is the province of Herat where hundreds were reported dead while scores of houses were destroyed by mud and snow slides there.