°®Âþµº

At least 48 people had died as a result of heavy snowfall, rains and flash flooding in Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials in said on Monday, as both authorities in both countries struggled to battle the violent, freezing weather conditions.

Thirty people were reportedly killed in bad weather in Pakistan, with southwestern Baluchistan the region worst affected.

Chief of the province's disaster management team, Imran Zarkon, said that in the past 24 hours alone, 14 had lost their lives, as building roofs collapsed due to the force of heavy snowfall.

Highways across the province are closed, while some parts remain covered in blankets of snow up to five-inches thick.

Eleven people were reportedly killed east of the country in Punjab, according to Associated Press, where torential rain 
poured down over the province.

The state-run emergency services in Pakistan-administered Kashmir reported five dead in the divided Himalayan region, which has seen heavy snowfall in recent days, and resulting power cuts. 

Local emergency services are under severe strain to provide food and other essentials to those worst-hit. 

In Afghanistan, at least 18 people, including women and children, died as a result of the severe weather, according to provincial officials.

A press officer with the state ministry for disaster management, Hasibullah Shaikhani, reported that highways across Afghanistan had been shut down as a precautionary measures against possible avalanches.

Eighteen people were killed in Afghanistan, eight of which perished in southern Kandahar province, according to Bahir Ahamdi, spokesman for the provincial governor.

In western Herat province, seven people died, including five members of the same family, said Abdul Ahad Walizada, spokesmen for the provincial chief. 

The three remaining deaths were recorded in southern Helmand province, according Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor.

In Kabul, residents were forced to forgoe driving and struggled to get to work on snow-covered roads, as temperatures dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius.


Follow us on and to stay connected