Flood kills 3 herds of horses in south Kazakhstan

The Syrdarya River has flooded farmlands and cause loss of dozens of cattle to farmers in South Kazakhstan Oblast, Tengrinews reports citing STV Channel.

Locals says that their farmlands have become a large graveyard littered with frozen corpses of drowned horses and cows. The farmers are indignant, because they received no warning about the flooding from the authorities and had no chance to try and save their cattle.

The Regional Emergencies Department said that the Akims (Mayors) of the villages were aware of the coming flood in the South Kazakhstan Oblast. "Our teams are dispatched only in cases when people are in danger. But in case of cattle, the owners themselves are supposed to keep their cattle safe," the Head of the Emergency Alerting Division of the Emergencies Department Yergali Bakhayev said.

The farmers are finding it hard to evaluate their losses to the flood. They can only calculate the cattle that have frozen into the ice. It is is most likely that a much large part of their herds was carried away by the freezing-cold waters of the overflown river. According to their preliminary data, three herds of horses and dozens of camels have drowned.

The water has spilled from the banks near Kozhatogai village because the water froze up at the flood-gate of Koksarai water compensating reservoir. Besides, 900 cubic meters of water per second are being discharged into the Syrdarya River from Shardarin reservoir. The Syrdarya River has frozen up from the main unit regulating the flow from Koksarai compensation reservoir all way to the border of Kyzylorda Oblast.