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Immediate mortality and morbidity implications
Compared to 2010 and 2012, when avalanches killed 172 and 201 people respectively, 2015 saw one of the worst avalanches on record in Afghanistan, with at least 310 Afghans estimated to have died in just four days. It also ranks fourth in the list of avalanche fatalities worldwide. The provinces have been hit hard by a series of heavy snowfalls over the past two weeks since 24 February, with 268 deaths as of 9 March, with Panjshir province being the worst hit and accounting for the majority of the deaths, 198 in total. According to statistics, the avalanche damaged around 100 houses, and the continued heavy snowfall resulted in snow depths of around 3 feet and many fallen trees, further blocking access to the Panjshir valley, with most of the roads in the 20 valleys connected to the area blocked and impassable, significantly slowing down rescue operations and further extending the death toll from the avalanche. The number of people injured thus spread indefinitely and the extent of material, property and human damage was incalculable. Other hard-hit areas are concentrated in eastern Afghanistan, with 36 deaths in Badakhshan province in the northeast, 5 in northern Baghlan and 5 in Parwan, 12 in Nuristan and Kunar provinces combined. According to the data, by the end of March, areas affected by heavy snow, avalanches or landslides totalled 69 districts in 17 provinces, with 2,701 houses damaged or destroyed and 2,983 families affected.

The triple disaster of heavy snowfall, avalanches and floods in March also led to a greater risk of subsequent waterborne diseases, followed by symptoms of typhoid fever in the Darwas-Ishkashim and Shugan regions of Badakhshan province, and clinical symptoms of hypothermia and frostbite in people rescued from avalanches, which also affected subsequent relief efforts in Afghanistan with a range of potential diseases.