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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//OEGSL//Semmelnare//DE
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Snow\, Rain\, and an Earthquake: A Massive Avalanche Cycle i
 n Tajikistan and Afghanistan
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:20@snow-science-group
DTSTAMP:20260911T160100Z
DTSTART:20260508T150000Z
DTEND:20260508T160000Z
SUMMARY:Snow\, Rain\, and an Earthquake: A Massive Avalanche Cycle in Taj
 ikistan and Afghanistan
DESCRIPTION:In Central Asia avalanches primarily affect houses\, villages
 \, and valuable livestock versus recreational users. To protect lives an
 d property\, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) developed an avalanc
 he safety network for this region that includes avalanche forecasting\, 
 search and rescue teams\, and community emergency response teams. This n
 etwork was put to the test in February 2023. A powerful winter storm hit
  Tajikistan and Afghanistan from February 13-21\, 2023. Nine straight da
 ys of snowfall dropped over one meter in the valleys and more than doubl
 e that in the starting zones. The snow fell onto a depth-hoar dominated 
 snowpack and triggered hundreds of slides. A mid-storm rain event trigge
 red even more avalanches and flooded homes and villages. To make matters
  worse\, on February 17\, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in northern Afghani
 stan likely triggered more slides. Snow\, rain\, and an earthquake coupl
 ed with a weak snowpack produced a historic avalanche cycle. During the 
 avalanche cycle\, observers at 36 Weather Monitoring Posts (WMPs) record
 ed 593 avalanches. These WMPs are a cornerstone of AKAH’s avalanche fore
 casting program. Every morning a person measures snowfall\, snow depth\,
  max and min temperatures\, rainfall\, and avalanche activity. The sites
  for these WMPs were specifically chosen because of the avalanche threat
  to the area. Villages surrounding these sites were trained in avalanche
  fundamentals and avalanche rescue. The day before the storm I issued an
  Avalanche Alert for southern Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan while 
 working as an avalanche forecaster for AKAH. They informed the public th
 rough in-person warnings\, texts\, social media\, and mosques. They evac
 uated 1\,024 households and several homes were subsequently destroyed by
  avalanches. Unfortunately\, since many homes and villages are located i
 n runout zones\, loss of life was inevitable. Sadly\, 38 people died\, 3
 5 were injured\, 84 homes were destroyed or damaged (including a school)
 \, and 333 livestock were killed. However\, these numbers were much lowe
 r than the 148 people who perished during a large avalanche cycle in thi
 s region in 2012. While any death is tragic\, AKAH’s avalanche safety ne
 twork saved lives.
URL:https://oegsl.org/de/talks/25-26/snow-rain-and-an-earthquake-a-massiv
 e-avalanche-cycle-in-tajikistan-and-afghanistan
LOCATION:Innsbruck & online
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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