Afghanistan's snowfall, heavy rain kills at least 3 including a child

Snowfall and heavy rain killed at least three people in Afghanistan, including a child, a government spokesman said Saturday. The severe weather hit nine provinces in different parts of the country on Friday and Saturday: Balkh, Zabul, Faryab, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Laghman. The snow and rain injured seven people, partially or completely destroyed more than 750 homes, and ruined farmland, according to Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesman from the Ministry of Disaster Management.

He said government departments are providing families with basic necessities, such as food, tents and blankets. Teams will visit the affected areas to survey the damage. Rahimi also said there was no change in the death toll from last Tuesday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck much of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

The late-night quake killed 10 and injured 60 in Afghanistan. It damaged 800 houses across the country. A powerful earthquake rocked a rugged and mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan last June, killing at least 1,000 people. An estimated 1,500 people were injured and thousands of homes were flattened.