More than 200 people have been killed in north Afghanistan in some of the worst avalanches there for 30 years.
Most of the deaths occurred in Panjshir province, north of Kabul, where at least 168 people were killed.
Heavy snow is set to last for two more days after an unusually dry winter led to fears of drought.
Officials warned of an imminent humanitarian emergency in areas most severely hit by the bad weather, with snow sweeping through villages and blocking off roads.
"We haven't seen this much snow, or this many avalanches, for 30 years," a local official said.
Despite bringing misery to so many people, the snow is vital for Afghanistan, where much of the rural population dependent on agriculture relies on snow melting in the mountains to sustain crops in the spring and summer.
Farming drives the troubled Afghan economy, with about three quarters of the people living in rural areas, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated in 2004.
