Deadly landslide wipes out Jaryo Bala village in northeastern Afghanistan

Almost a year after a massive landslide buried the village of Hobo Barik in northeastern Badakshan province killing an unknown number of people (between 350 and 2 700), another deadly landslide hit the same province on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.

Initial reports suggest only one village (Jaryo Bala/Jurm-e Bala) was hit, but it is likely to have been completely wiped out, Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority said.

Police spokesman of Badakhshan province said at least 100 houses have been destroyed and 52 people are missing, mostly women and children.

Shah Waliullah Adeeb, the governor of Badakhshan province where the stricken district of Khwahan is located, said the area is cut off from the rest of the country, covered in snow and is only accessible from the air.

Badakhshan province is in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges where unchecked environmental degradation and deforestation contribute to a growing problem of landslides when winter snows melt and seasonal rains begin, Al Jazeera explains.

In February 2015, almost 200 people died in an avalanche in the Panjshir Valley, near the capital Kabul.

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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