Torrential rains on April 24 caused natural disasters that left three dead in Tajikistan.  Two persons were killed by mudslide in Fayzobod district and one another was killed after a boulder fell onto a car from mountain in Ayni district, according to the Committee on Emergency Situations and Civil Defense under the Government of Tajikistan.

“A 54-year-old man and a 14-year-old teen from the village of Sayidon in Fayzobod district were killed yesterday by a mudslide that occurred when they were pasturing cattle,” Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman of the Emergencies Committee, told Asia-Plus today morning.

The second fatal disaster occurred on the 155th kilometer of the Dushanbe-Chanak highway in Ayni district of Sughd province.  A 40-year-old passenger of Toyota Prado was killed after a boulder fell onto the car from mountain, Yusufi noted.

Meanwhile, the emergency management commission for Roudaki district has made a decision to evacuate residents of seven villages in Roudaki district and one village in Hisor district to safe places as the risk of mudslides is high in those areas.  In all, 6,000 people have been evacuated, the Emergencies Committee spokeswoman added.      

Torrential rains yesterday caused rockfalls and mudslides that blocked in some places the Dushanbe-Khorog and Dushanbe-Rasht-Lakhsh highways as well as rural roads in Kuhistoni Mastchoh district (Sughd province).

The roads have already been cleared of slurry and stones and they have been reopened for traffic.

However, the risk of further mudslides and rockfalls in mountain areas remains high and the Emergencies Committee advises people not to travel to mountain areas unnecessarily.