2 killed in eastern Mongolia due to dust, snow storms

This photo taken on May 20, 2023 shows livestock enduring snow storms in the eastern province of Sukhbaatar, Mongolia.

Heavy blizzards and strong dust storms in eastern Mongolia have killed two people, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Saturday.

"A total of 127 people, mostly nomadic herders, went missing in the dust and snow storms that started in the eastern provinces of Sukhbaatar and Khentii on Friday morning, 125 of them have been found alive. Unfortunately, two people have lost their lives in the storms," NEMA said in a statement.

The disastrous weather conditions have caused severe damage to public and private buildings as well as infrastructure facilities such as roads and power lines, and killed a large number of livestock, according to the emergency agency.

The unstable weather conditions are expected to continue through the weekend across large parts of the country, especially eastern and southern provinces, the country's weather monitoring agency said, warning the public, especially nomadic herders and drivers, to take extra precautions against possible disasters.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate as strong winds and dust storms are common.

Dust, snow storms in Mongolia kill 290,000 livestock

More than 290,000 livestock have been killed in the Mongolian provinces of Sukhbaatar and Khentii due to the recent dust and snow storms, local media reported on Thursday.

The overall number of fatalities is however, expected to increase since many livestock still remain still unaccounted for, Xinhua news agency quoted authorities as saying.

Heavy blizzards and intense dust storms swept through Sukhbaatar and Khentii provinces late last week, causing severe damage.

A total of 127 people, primarily nomadic herders, went missing in the provinces due to the storms.

Among them, 125 were found alive, while two were killed.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate as strong winds, dust and snow storms are common.