Recent heavy snowfall and rains have increased risks of avalanches and rockfalls in mountain areas of the country, says the Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan.

“Heavy sleet on February 20 caused a rockfall that blocked the main highway from Dushanbe to Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), near the village of Yakhchisor in GBAO’s Darvoz district (285 the kilometer of the Dushanbe-Kulob-Darvoz-Khorog highway),” Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Committee, told Asia-Plus in an interview today morning.   

“Currently, employees of the district road service are working at the rockfall site.  The highway is still closed for traffic,” she said.   

According to her, the risk of further avalanches and rockfalls in the mountain areas of the country due to heavy snowfall and rain.

The Emergencies Committee advises people throughout much of the country not to travel unnecessarily to mountain areas.