At least sixteen people have been killed and another 40 are missing after mudslides hit the south of Tajikistan, the country's emergencies committee said on Saturday.
The mudslides struck the country's south on Friday morning as a result of heavy rains in the Kulyab, Shurabad and Muminabad districts of the Khatlon region, damaging over 1,500 houses, dozens of bridges, hundreds of kilometers of motorways and 2,500 hectares of cultivated land.
The mudslides also damaged communications and social facilities in the area.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon has flown to the affected area to assess the scope of the disaster.
Damage from the mudslides is tentatively estimated at $100 million.
DUSHANBE, May 8 (RIA Novosti)