Tajikistan seeks aid as avalanches toll hits 13

Tajikistan's president said today that the death toll from a series of avalanches in late January had reached 13, with the government calling for international assistance.
President Emomali Rakhmon said nine people were killed on a road linking the capital Dushanbe to the country's northern regions, and four in the east.
More than 40 avalanches hit the mountainous Central Asian country over the last weekend of January, with the emergency services committee initially reporting seven victims.
Rakhmon said the country was struck by 244 avalanches last month.
On Wednesday the foreign ministry issued a call to foreign partners for assistance in dealing with the consequences of "anomalous" weather conditions.

The ministry said that precipitation over the autumn and winter had been "140-170 percent higher" than usual.
Poverty is widespread in Tajikistan, and the country is prone to natural disasters including avalanches, landslides and earthquakes.
In neighbouring Afghanistan, more than 100 people were killed this month in avalanches that buried whole villages.