Almaty hit by mud flows

Three areas of Almaty have been hit by mud flows, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing Yury Ilyin, the city Vice Mayor.

“At aroud 2.15 am morainic lake Bezymyannoye at Kargaly glacier outburst. The water volume of the lake stood at 40 000 cubic meters. The outburst caused mud flows, with part of them overtopping the dam on the Kargaly River. The height of the flows reached 10-12 meters”, Mr. Ilyin elaborated.

According to him, the dam wasn’t destroyed. “”Now the flow of water in the Kargaly River is estimated at 10-12 cubic meters per second (…) it’s a rather significant figure. Te mud flows have flooded three of Almaty districts. Chapaevo settlement in Nauryzbai district was mostly hit. The people have been evacuated. The exact number of flooded houses will be announced later. Auezov district has been flooded insignificantly. 97 houses have been flooded in Algabas settlement. There’s no immediate threat to the people’s lives”, he said.

“We are expecting rains at the weekend that could trigger a greater water flow in the mountain rivers. Respective public bodies are closely monitoring the situation.. If need be, some water in moraine lakes will have to be diverted to reduce the threat (…) inspections of the Lake # 6 and the Big Almaty Lake, two substantial water reservoirs in the mountains of Almaty, have shown the lakes are safe”.

Kuanyshbek Kashkimbayev,Governor of Nauryzbai district, added that the Kargaly River is up to 5-6 meters. As soon as the water is down, the Governor Office will inspect the buildings to estimate the damage. According to him, the situation is under control, and the Kargaly dam is fully functional and can handle the current level of water.

The Emergency Department received the first alerts about the rising level of the river at 3 am. Two settlements right outside Almaty, Kargaly and Kamenka, were flooded. No deaths have been reported.

Sergei Kuyanov, an advisor to Almaty Mayor, announced that the police had started identifying people falsely disseminating rumors of a second imminent wave of mud flows and about a reportedly failed dam.