The number of people killed in heavy snowfall, avalanches and freezing weather around Afghanistan in the past month has increased up to 300, DPA quoted officials as saying today. According to the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA), 25 provinces have been affected while the western province of Herat, with 137 weather-related fatalities, was the hardest hit. In the neighboring provinces of Farah, Badghis and Ghor about 125 people have died and many others have become sick because of the cold. The ANDMA said more than 83,000 farm animals have died over the past month due to the cold weather. Local authorities in northern Badakhshan, Takhar and nearby provinces reported that dozens of people had died due to harsh winter. According to Afghan authorities, the country is experiencing one of its harshest winters in many years. On February 22, Afghan Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatemi confirmed the death of 180 young children because of respiratory infections, whooping cough and pneumonia. Ebadullah Ebadi, the World Food Program (WFP) spokesman in Afghanistan, told local media that so far the deaths of 211 Afghans, mostly children, have been confirmed.
