Last Friday, in Afghanistan's mountainous northeastern province of Badakhshan, an enormous landslide took place, burying much of a small village, and killing hundreds. Officials say that at least 300 residents of Abi Barik village were killed, but are uncertain about exact numbers, cautioning that the final number could be 500 or more. Rescue teams gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors, focusing energy on helping the hundreds suddenly made homeless. Many of the surviving families have struggled to get aid. Some have gone to nearby villages to stay with relatives or friends, while others have slept in tents provided by aid groups.

Paramedics carry an injured woman out from a subway station after a rush-hour subway train derailment, to be transported by a medical helicopter in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, July 15, 2014. A rush-hour subway train derailed in Moscow Tuesday, killing 20 people and injuring at least 150, emergency officials said. Several cars left the track in the tunnel after a power surge triggered an alarm, which caused the train to stop abruptly. (Photo by Ivan Sekretarev/AP Photo)

An Acehnese female police officer wear a hijab on duty in the street in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 27 March 2015. Indonesia National Police officially issued a regulation allowing female police officer to wear the Islamic hijab (heads craft) as a part of their uniform. Indonesia is the biggest Muslim population in the world. (Photo by Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA)

People observe the landslide-affected area after the landslide at Lumle village in Kaski district July 30, 2015. Landslides triggered by torrential rain in Nepal swept through villages on Thursday, killing at least 30 people close to the nation's most popular trekking circuit, home ministry officials said. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A man carries the body of his son for burial after he was killed when a rooftop of his house collapsed due to heavy rain in the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan April 27, 2015. A severe storm in northwest Pakistan, dubbed a “mini-cyclone”, has killed 44 people and injured more than 200, officials said, raising their previous death toll. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Residents cross over an improvised bridge after a landslide sent mud and water crashing onto homes close to the municipality of Salgar in Antioquia department, Colombia May 19, 2015. A landslide sent mud and water crashing onto homes in a town in Colombia's northwest mountains on Monday, killing at least 50 people and injuring dozens, officials said. (Photo by Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters)

A reveler strikes a pose during an unofficial carnival block party referred to as “blocos”, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, February 26, 2022. City Hall banned all blocos, the tightly packed street parties attended by those who cannot or don't want to buy pricey tickets for the official parade at the Sambadrome, due to a wave of the Omicron variant. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.