DUSHANBE: Tajikistan’s government said Wednesday that eight people had died and many properties were devastated in landslides in different parts of the country following heavy rainfall. Fatal landsides affect mountainous Central Asian Tajikistan every year around springtime, blocking off important roads in a country lacking transport infrastructure and forcing families to rebuild homes from scratch.

The southern Khatlon region was worst affected by the latest landslides that struck on Tuesday, with three people dying in the provincial city of Kulyab, according to the country’s emergencies committee. Most of the victims of died whilst travelling in vehicles, the committee said, noting that one of them was a child born in 2011.