As Afghans observed a day of mourning on Sunday for the hundreds of people killed in a horrific landslide, authorities tried to help the 700 families displaced by the torrent of mud that swept through their village.
The families left their homes due to the threat of more landslides in the village of Abi Barik in Badakhshan province, Minister for Rural Rehabilitation Wais Ahmad Barmak said.
Aid groups and the government have rushed to the remote area in north-eastern Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan and China with food, shelter and water.
Authorities gave $400,000 to the provincial governor on Saturday to use in the aid effort, said Mr. Barmak.
President Hamid Karzai designated on Sunday as a day of mourning for the hundreds of people who died in Abi Barik when a wall of mud and earth broke off from the hill above and turned part of the village into a cemetery.
Authorities still don’t have an exact figure on how many people died in the landslide, Mr. Barmak said. Estimates have ranged from 250 to 2,700, but authorities have said it will be impossible to dig up all the bodies.
The government has identified 250 people, who died and estimated that 300 houses were buried under tons of mud, Mr. Barmak said.
