Heavy snowfall on February 20 caused a series of snow-slides that blocked in several places the highway connecting Dushanbe and the northern city of Khujand.

More than 10 avalanches occurred in the Varzob district yesterday blocking the Dushanbe-Khujand highway in several places,” says the press center of the Branch of the Innovative Roads Solutions (IRS) Company in Tajikistan, which operates the toll on the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway.   

Snowfall is going on and the risk of further avalanches reportedly remains high.

Meanwhile the Emergencies Committee says the highway connecting Dushanbe and Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) remains closed to traffic.

“Avalanches yesterday blocked in several places roads leading from Khorog to Ishkashim and Murgab districts,” Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Committee, told Asia-Plus today morning. 

Recall, at least eight people were killed in snow avalanches in Tajikistan last month.  More than 110 snow-slides were registered in the country in January.   

Mountains cover 93 percent of Tajikistan, and avalanches and mudslides kill dozens of people every year.