Mudslides kill 13 in Tajikistan

Tajikistan's government announced on Monday that 13 people died in mudslides triggered by heavy rains on Sunday, with warnings of ongoing peril in many of its mountainous regions.

Unverified images and videos shared on social media depict scenes from the towns of Khujand and Rudaki, both located just outside the capital, Dushanbe. These visuals reveal roads submerged in water, along with significant damage caused by the mudslides and massive rocks.

According to RT agency, Araf Nazimov, the spokesperson for Tajikistan's Ministry of Emergency Situations, stated that the mudslide occurred on Saturday evening in a mountainous village near the Afghan border, after days of relentless heavy rainfall.

Nazimov did not rule out the possibility of the casualty count rising, given that dozens of homes were destroyed due to the mudslide.

The torrential rains led to the breach of the Shuraksoi stream in the Khujand Province, a part of the Dushanbe city.

This event resulted in water flooding land parcels, buildings, and the closure of the Hafiz Shirazi highway. Approximately 35 meters of the mudflow barrier were damaged, along with the secondary educational institution No. 69, a sports field, auxiliary structures, and the adjacent road.

The Ministry's spokesperson indicated that the risk of further landslides remains high, emphasizing the continued threat posed by these natural disasters. Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet Union states in Central Asia, is prone to such calamities.

Earlier in February, the upper Badakhshan region, an area with autonomous governance located in the south and bordering Afghanistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan, was struck by numerous glacial avalanches, landslides, and rockfalls. The region is surrounded by the towering Pamir Mountains.