Hurricane in Southern Kazakhstan: one dead, several injured

Shymkent, a large city in southern Kazakhstan, has been experiencing a hurricane for two days in a row.

On May 13, the strong wind knocked down a metal water tank from its support bearing. The water tank then crushed with all its weight onto a car parked nearby. The video was filmed on a mobile phone by eyewitnesses on the scene. Fortunately, the Zhiguli car was empty.

A seller of a convenience store in Sairam district was much less fortunate. The 45-year-old woman was walking out of her store when the hurricane ripped off a nearby roof and cast it down on her head. The woman is now in hospital in critical condition with numerous bone fractures and injuries.

There are four other victims of the wind in the hospital. Some of them sustained injuries from pieces of falling roofs, others were grazed by falling trees.

The day before a 52-year-old zookeeper was killed by an uprooted tree.

More than 50 accidents were registered in the gas supply system and more than 100 accidents in the power system of Shymkent city were registered during these two days. Nearly a hundred trees were knocked down by the hurricane. According to the weather forecasts, wind is expected to persist and even strengthen in the coming 2-3 days.