06 March 2014 | 02:58

South Kazakhstan fighting back floodwater

Caption from Tengrinews TV video

Several villages in Kyzylorda Oblast in southern Kazakhstan have been repeatedly experiencing destructive floods for over a fortnight, since the time snow started melting heavily in the end of February, Tengrinews reports. Many residents of Zhailma village had to abandon their houses and move over to their friends and extended families until the time the hazard passes. Many of the houses have been damaged so badly that they are collapsing or on the verge of collapsing and beyond repair. Birlik village is also under the threat of a heavy flooding. “The house is barely standing. We didn’t expect things to happen so fast. It will hold for some time longer, but eventually it will go down. Well, at least I managed to take my family away from there in time,” a local resident says showing gaping hollow under the foundation of his house and a long crack in the wall. “I led all my cattle out of the barn and took it to my neighbor. He lives on the other side of the street. There is no floodwater there. But here the flood was very strong there was nothing we could do, The water was destroying everything in its way,” another says standing on the ruins of his barn. According to the Emergency Situation’s Department, there are still large among of snow in the mountains feeding the local rivers. So 350 people arrived to Birlik village to construct a temporary dam to prevent the water from reaching the houses again. “Flooding of the Akuik River poses a danger for Birlik. But things are under control in Zhailma village already. So we are concentrating all over efforts on rescuing Birlik. There is a danger that the water flow will be even stronger,” says Abdimaulen Sabyrkhanov, Head of Emergency Department of Zhanakorgan region. Several days before, there was a bad flood in Zhanakorgan region. Local residents were fighting the water on their own, trying to construct hand made dams from sandbags. The area is already experiencing a shortage in food supplies and fresh water. All the water well are flooded and the roads are washed out and hardly passable for vehicles. Several commissions have been created to evaluate the damages cause by this year’s floods and help distribute aid.
Tengrinews TV video of the previous flood

Several villages in Kyzylorda Oblast in southern Kazakhstan have been repeatedly experiencing destructive floods for over a fortnight, since the time snow started melting heavily in the end of February, Tengrinews reports. Many residents of Zhailma village had to abandon their houses and move over to their friends and extended families until the time the hazard passes. Many of the houses have been damaged so badly that they are collapsing or on the verge of collapsing and beyond repair. Birlik village is also under the threat of a heavy flooding. “The house is barely standing. We didn’t expect things to happen so fast. It will hold for some time longer, but eventually it will go down. Well, at least I managed to take my family away from there in time,” a local resident says showing gaping hollow under the foundation of his house and a long crack in the wall. “I led all my cattle out of the barn and took it to my neighbor. He lives on the other side of the street. There is no floodwater there. But here the flood was very strong there was nothing we could do, The water was destroying everything in its way,” another says standing on the ruins of his barn. According to the Emergency Situation’s Department, there are still large among of snow in the mountains feeding the local rivers. So 350 people arrived to Birlik village to construct a temporary dam to prevent the water from reaching the houses again. “Flooding of the Akuik River poses a danger for Birlik. But things are under control in Zhailma village already. So we are concentrating all over efforts on rescuing Birlik. There is a danger that the water flow will be even stronger,” says Abdimaulen Sabyrkhanov, Head of Emergency Department of Zhanakorgan region. Several days before, there was a bad flood in Zhanakorgan region. Local residents were fighting the water on their own, trying to construct hand made dams from sandbags. The area is already experiencing a shortage in food supplies and fresh water. All the water well are flooded and the roads are washed out and hardly passable for vehicles. Several commissions have been created to evaluate the damages cause by this year’s floods and help distribute aid.

Tengrinews TV video of the previous flood

water news Kyzylorda Kazakhstan Kazakh flood disaster