DHAKA: More than 100 people have been killed in avalanches that buried homes in the northeastern Panjshir Valley of Afghanistan.

Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, said the avalanches buried homes across four northeast provinces, killing those beneath, reports the Al Jazeera.

The province worst hit appeared to be Panjshir province, about 100km northeast of the capital, Kabul, with around 100 homes destroyed or damaged, Syas said.

Rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected areas and casualties were expected to rise, Syas said.

Large swathes of Afghanistan have been covered in snow over the past 24 hours as a major storm has interrupted an otherwise mild and dry winter.

BDST: 1125 HRS, FEB 26, 2015