2010 Salang avalanches

On February 7, 10 people were killed in Kandahar Province, according to the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS). Najibullah Barith, ARCS's director in Kandahar complained about the lack of local and national resources.
11 people were killed by avalanches in Farah, Bamyan, Ghor, and Daykundi provinces between February 4 and February 8, a spokesman of the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority said. The Afghan flash floods and avalanches left 20 others dead in the rest of the country on February 8. The provincial authorities had summoned an emergency meeting and Loya Jurga to discuss responses on February 8. Shah Wali Kot and Shorandam districts were the worst affected.
Heavy wind and rain in the area just before the incident caused up to 17 avalanches that buried at least 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of roadway in the Salang Tunnel trapping thousands of people in their vehicles who were travelling in the tunnel, and cutting off one of the major travel links to Northern Afghanistan. Official reports soon after the avalanche report up to 64 people were feared dead and that more could die. Afghanistan's interior minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar believed that there could be at least 2,500 people trapped in their vehicles. Many vehicles were pushed down the mountains, and hundreds of cars were buried in snow.Among the survivors many injuries were reported.
The avalanches were caused by a sudden blizzard that struck the area, closing the tunnel and the roads around it on both sides of the tunnel.The tunnel was reopened on February 12, 2010.
Annually about 250 avalanches strike the road, and the total loss of life during the 2008/9 season was about 40 people.

2012 Siachen Glacier avalanche

Around 2:00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PKT) on 7 April 2012, a massive ice avalanche struck a Pakistani military headquarters at Gayari, 30 km west of the Siachen Glacier terminus, near the disputed Siachen glacier region. Located in a deep valley at 3,775 metres (12,400 feet) above sea level, the Gayari base is one of the most important Pakistani bases in the area. It is a vital supply hub for troops and materiel passing through to more remote bases, and is not far from a military hospital. At the time of the ice avalanche, the base was occupied by soldiers of the 6th Northern Light Infantry battalion, a unit "trained in mountain operations". Avalanches are uncommon in the area of Gayari; due to the low avalanche risk, Gayari was a bigger complex and housed many more soldiers than other bases in the Siachen region. The glacier avalanche broke off at an elevation of around 4560 m.a.s.l. in a distance of around 1300 m from the camp.


Initial reports indicated that at least 100 Pakistani soldiers, including a colonel and a commander, had been trapped under an estimated 21 metres (70 feet) of snow,covering an area of 1 square kilometre. The number of people missing was later stated to be at least 135: "at least 124 soldiers and 11 civilian contractors"