AFP, February 8, 2008

Cold snap kills 760 in Afghanistan: authority

Nearly half the villages in the poverty-stricken country were still cut off from major cities

Feb.6, 2008 - Kabul: An Afghan woman with her child, begs in the bitter cold. (RAWA photo)

KABUL — More than 750 people have died in the harshest winter to have hit Afghanistan in decades, the disaster authority said Saturday.

More than 500 homes, mostly traditional mud brick houses, have been destroyed and tens of thousands damaged by the heaviest snowfalls in 30 years, said Ahmad Shkeb Hamraz, an official at the National Disaster Management Authority.

Nearly half the villages in the poverty-stricken country were still cut off from major cities, he told AFP.

"According to the latest figures, about 760 people have died since the start of the winter across the country," Hamraz said. "The figures are likely to increase as more information and data are being collected," he added.

Thousands of livestock have also died of the cold, Hamraz said, adding the western region bordering Iran was hardest hit.

According to AP: "Weather-related incidents have also left 84 people injured and killed at least 100,000 cattle, said Abdul Matin Edrak, head of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Commission."

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