Kazakhstan flooding death toll rises to 30

15:06 13/03/2010 » Society

Kazakhstan flooding death toll rises to 30

The death toll from a massive flood that devastated a village in southern Kazakhstan has risen to 30.

A dam at a reservoir in the eastern Almaty region neighboring China ruptured Thursday evening, unleashing torrents almost 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and completely destroying Kyzyl-Agash, a village of 3,000 people.

Authorities said more than 600 emergency workers have reached Kyzyl-Agash to help clear the debris and that police have been posted at the entrance to the village to prevent looting, foreign media reported.

An onsite commission is assisting in organizing funerals and providing replacement documents for the surviving flood victims.

By Friday evening, emergency workers had erected tents for 1,000 people near Kyzyl-Agash. Around 700 people have been evacuated to temporary accommodation in the regional capital, Taldykorgan, and a further 300 have been taken to the nearby village of Sagabien. By Friday evening 30 corpses had been brought into the morgue of the region. More than 2,500 people have been affected by the flooding, he said, and at least 60 homes were destroyed.

In another part of the Almaty region, heavy rain and thawing snow Thursday evening eroded a levee in the village of Zhylbulak, flooding 140 homes and affecting 820 people. No casualties have been reported from the site.

Southern Kazakhstan was affected by unusually intense snowfalls this winter and fast-rising temperatures are causing major flooding and mudslides across the region.

Transportation has been severely hampered over recent days after major railroads and highway bridges across the country were washed away by the heavy rains.


 

Source: Panorama.am

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