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Kazakhstan: Floods - Mar 2010

Disaster description

Heavy rainfall at the end of February and heavy rains in early March 2010, compounded by intensive snow melting, caused flooding in 10 districts (out of 16) of Almaty region in the south of Kazakhstan. More than 40 settlements were located in the disaster-stricken area, which constitutes 29 per cent of all settlements in the affected districts. (IFRC, 19 Apr 2010) Several villages and small towns in five districts of Almaty province (Karatal, Aksu, Kerbulak, Koksu and Uighur) as well as the city of Taldykurgan were affected. (OCHA, 31 Mar 2010)

According to the emergency ministry reports, the total number of directly affected people was over 15,500 (including 46 died people and 300 injured) and around 10,900 people from 17 villages were temporary evacuated by the government. The losses from the disaster estimated at 5.4 billion Kazakhstan tenge (34.4 million Swiss francs). Waters from rivers and reservoirs completely ruined over 1,400 public and private buildings, disrupted electricity and telecommunication lines, damaged 6 dams and 9 bridges, and made some parts of auto and rail roads unusable. (IFRC, 16 Sep 2010)

Furthermore, the flooding devastated 3,000 hectares of farmlands and killed about 6,000 heads of cattle. The worst affected area was five villages in Tarbagatay district with 386 homes destroyed and 563 houses damaged. Significant losses of livestock were reported in all five districts, with an estimated 30,000 sheep, 4,000 cows, and more than 1,500 horses killed by the floods. (OCHA, 24 Mar 2010)

Aksu district was hardest hit with 5 of its settlements completely flooded and another 8 settlements partially flooded in addition to the number of flooded farms. About 4,500 people were left homeless and lost their belongings, their cattle and food reserves in cellars and gardens. (IFRC, 16 Sep 2010)

Damage to public infrastructure and the economy included the collapse of one major bridge on the Almaty-Ust Kamrnogorsk highway and partial damage to six smaller bridges. In addition, the railroad network in southern Kazakhstan was damaged. (OCHA, 31 Mar 2010)

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