SRINAGAR: At least 61 people have died across Afghanistan over the past three days after heavy snowfall and rainfall triggered avalanches and structural collapses, disaster officials said.
Initial Figures of Casualties and Destruction caused by Snowfall and Rain in the last Three Days!#آمادگی_پاسخ_بازسازی#چمتووالی_ځواب_وینه__بیارغونه#AfghanistanNDMA pic.twitter.com/dvTxbVUyDu
— ANDMA – له پېښو سره د مبارزې آمادګۍ ملي اداره (@AfghanistanNDMA) January 24, 2026
According to Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the fatalities were reported between Wednesday and Friday, mainly from central and northern provinces.
Preliminary assessments indicate that 110 people were injured, while 458 houses were either partially or completely damaged. Authorities said around 360 families have been affected by the extreme weather, as stated in posts shared on the social media platform X.
Officials have advised residents to avoid non-essential travel, particularly on snow-covered roads.
NDMA said most deaths resulted from roof collapses and avalanches, with several others caused by frostbite as temperatures fell below freezing. In the southern province of Kandahar, six children were killed on Wednesday when strong winds and heavy rain caused their house roof to collapse, local emergency officials said.
The harsh weather has also disrupted critical infrastructure. The Salang highway, a vital route linking northern Afghanistan with the rest of the country, has been closed. Food supplies were distributed to travellers stranded at a mountain pass in Bamyan province. In addition, a power transmission line importing electricity from Uzbekistan was damaged, leaving households in nearly 12 provinces without power.
The disaster has further deepened Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations estimating that nearly half of the country’s population will require humanitarian assistance this year.
