At least 38 people have died and 54 others have been injured in earthquakes and floods since January 3 in more than 10 provinces across the country.

A spokesman for the ministry, Mohammad Naseem Haqqani, said they have provided family members of the dead with 50,000 Afs and families of the wounded with 25,000 Afs.

“The State Ministry for Natural Disasters instructed its department in all the provinces to be fully prepared for natural disasters,” he said.

The Ministry of Public Works said that some highways in several provinces have been closed to traffic due to heavy rainfall and snowfall.

“The transit paths of some districts to the centers are blocked due to recent snowfall,” said Hameedullah Musbah, a spokesman for the ministry.

According to Musbah, the highways are blocked for traffic in Herat, Ghor, and Bamiyan provinces. He said that Salang, the main highway which connects the capital to the northern provinces, has also been closed.

Officials said the highway of Salang has been blocked for traffic since Friday night.

“We ask all the drivers and passengers to not attempt to travel through until we inform them,” said Obaidullah Obaid, in charge of the highway’s management.

This comes as some of the public transportation’s drivers called on the officials to take immediate steps to reopen the highway.

“The paths are clear now except that there are some particular places where the amount of snow is heavy. We hope these areas will be cleared and we can drive again,” said a driver.