Extreme weather or cyclones

Extreme cold weather

Since 1 February, an estimated 7,331 families have been affected by floods, rain, heavy snow and avalanches in 122 districts in 22 provinces. A total of 257 people were killed and 72 people were injured. 1,326 houses were completely destroyed and 5,608 houses were damaged. Severe and extreme weather condition with heavy snow continued affecting several districts throughout Afghanistan. Typical Afghan weather patterns mean that those living in mountainous areas- up to half of the affected population –will almost certainly soon be cut off from help as winter closes in. Families from 14 drought-affected provinces have not been able to grow enough wheat to feed themselves over the winter due poor rains earlier this year. According to a UN assessment, in some provinces almost 100 per cent of the harvest has been destroyed, and food prices have soared, with the price of wheat in some areas doubling on average since this time last year. Families are coping by cutting down their meals, borrowing money and even moving to Iran or Pakistan. Some 90 per cent of households in the affected area are now living in debt after borrowing money to buy food, and schools have closed as children are being put out to work. Food, clean water and extra healthcare made available in the next few weeks will be critical as families face the risk of rising rates of disease and malnutrition that will hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.

More than 2 million Afghans are at risk of hunger and many are bracing to be stranded for months without help as the country prepares for a harsh winter. Save the Children and Oxfam agencies called for a redoubling of the aid effort to reach people in need before the onset of heavy snows cut off huge swathes of the country. Close to 3,200 families in 21 provinces received Afghan Red Crescent Society food and NFIs. The UN says the death toll from days of severe weather that caused avalanches and flooding across central and northeastern Afghanistan has jumped to at least 229 people.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on February 27 the deaths occurred in at least 18 provinces, with hundreds more people left homeless.

Extreme cold weather

UN Aid

Damages due to Extreme cold

Sinkholes

Sinkholes: occur when the overlying ground collapses into underground soil cavities over limestone.

There are three types of Sinkholes:

Dissolution: where the soil cover is thin and highly preamble. Acidic underground seeps through the soil and dissolves the underground limestone along fractures.

Cover Subsidence: where as much as 60 meters of sandy and permeable sediment exists on top of the limestone bedrock.

Cover Collapse: where a significant amount to clay is present in the overlying sediments.

Limestone: Limestone is a sedimentary rock, which means it was formed from small particles of rock or stone that have been compacted by pressure. Sedimentary rock is important because it often contains fossils and gives clues about what type of rock was on the Earth long ago. Just like a tree's rings tell a lot about its environment, layers found in sedimentary rock can tell about important changes in the environment.

I couldn’t find sinkholes hazards in Afghanistan, and therefore, I don’t think Afghanistan experiences sinkholes hazardous incidents or perhaps they are not recorded due to lack of media. I would love to know if anybody has any info about sinkholes hazards in Afghanistan.
http://geology.com/rocks/limestone.shtml

Mass Wasting Hazards

Landslides and Seismic Activity

Badakhshan is in the most remote and mountainous part of the country, bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan. Hundreds of homes were buried under mud and rocks when a section of a mountain collapsed following torrential rain. The first landslide swallowed 300 to 400 homes in the Argo district of Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan where an estimated 2,700 people resided. At least 2,000 people were killed by landslides in northeastern Afghanistan in the worst natural disaster on record for the war-torn nation. The landslides were triggered by heavy rains in Badakhshan province bordering Tajikistan, where melting snow and seasonal showers make the region vulnerable to such calamities. The toll is more than double that of the worst natural disaster recorded in Afghanistan in May 1991 when floods killed 728 people, according to the international emergency disaster database of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.

The area is far from a major city and is bordered by Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south. Rocky terrain and mountains make it difficult to reach. Relief was made difficult by how the disaster site lies in a far-flung mountain valley, where homes are terraced on hillsides and uniformly made with stone-colored exteriors, officials said. One mountainside had its face sheared off, and beneath it was freshly tilled soil and rock. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in Asia, which has been continuously facing wars for many decades. Therefore, due lack of security and advance tools/machinery in Afghanistan, government is doing much to prevent or aware people for these kind of disaster. 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/03/world/asia/afghanistan-landslide/

http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/05/massive-landslide-buries-remote-afghan-village/100729/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-02/landslides-kill-350-people-destroys-homes-in-afghanistan