Kazakh villagers ask to asses damages from flooding

Villagers from the flooded areas of Akmola Oblast are asking to assess damages to their property, Tengrinews reports.

Akmol (Malinovka) is among the villages that were unlucky to be on the way of the flood. It is located just 30 kilometers away from Astana. The outskirts of the village were flooded, so a protective embankment was built along one of its streets. But homes that were outside that street, and there are ten of them, were all flooded.

Villagers said that the water began to arrive on Saturday morning. Residents of the flooded houses moved to their friends and relatives. According to local residents, the last time the water poured that way into the village was over half a century ago. They also noted that in previous years there were more snow, but not as much water.

Victims of the floods said they did not need any assistance in the form of clothing or food. The priority for them was to get an assessment of the damages. According to them, it had not been made during the first three days after the water level started to subside.

“In the beginning, the water level reached 1.1 meters, then the water subsided by about 20 centimeters," said a local resident.

Residents of the flooded houses were unable to recover house items, furniture and equipment. They could only same some clothes. Everything else was damaged.

The local akim (governor) Zhanat Beisekeyev assured that a commission, consisting of representatives of the housing inspection and emergency services, was on its way to the village to assess the damages. According to him, all the necessary resources from the district and state budget were allocated.

Zhanazhol villagers, who were affected by the flood the worst in the area, were relocated to the secondary school in the of village Akmol. There is no electricity there. 350 people were evacuated, but 29 of them have been staying in the school building since April 18.

According to Zhanazhol residents, only large families were moved to the school. The rest of the villagers settled with their relatives in Astana or in nearby villages.

Rural city administration provided them with bedding, mattresses, blankets. They eat at the local sovkozh dining room.

Several Astana residents came here to bring some aid. One of the action teams brought assistance in the form of clothing, food, and other necessities. They say they gathered the aid through Zello mobile application and Astana channel.

According to the moderator of Astana channel Bauyrzhan, the collection point was arranged in Shubary neighbourhood at #27 Zheke Batyr street. There was a 20-ton container, where all the aid was being collected to. The campaign lasted until April 24.

On the outskirts of Taytobe, adjacent to the village of Kosshy, which is also a suburb of Astana, employees of the emergency departments of Kyzylorda, Uralsk, Akmola and Shchuchinsk cities are patrolling the area. A total of 9 pieces of equipment and 32 personnel are involved.

According to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the second Fire Unit of Uralsk Ivan Meshtakov, they arrived on April 17th. They were on duty on the channel and threw bags of soil when the threat of flooding was the highest. Now they are continuing to pump away the water from areas where there is a danger of flooding. According to him, there was a decline of inflow by 20 centimeters and the rise of water is not expected anymore.

Locals say that it has never happened before that the water came so close to the village.

Meanwhile, the city administration of Astana said that since the beginning of the flood period, more than 250,000 cubic meters of melt water was pumped away from the city. The volume of water in the protective dam on the Yesil River reached 160 million cubic meters, while its design capacity was 450 million cubic meters. Department of Emergency Situations of Astana reported that on April 20 the situation in the capital was stable. The situation around Astana is being monitored from two satellites.

"Thanks to the coordinated work of urban services, flooding of the village Ilyinka was avoided this year. The city is taking all measures to prevent flooding and emergencies," the press service of Astana administration said.

According to the press service of akimat of Akmola Oblast, measures to counter the flood are undertaken in 11 villages of Tselinograd District. In all the villages located in the risk zone work is underway to strengthen the existing dams and roadsides. In some places, new dams are constructed. In total, 523 people were evacuated from the district to safer locations.

By Dinara Urazova
Photos ©Turar Kazangapov