More than 108,000 people have been evacuated as a result of the floods that have been plaguing Kazakhstan for the last few weeks, while around 12,000 people have returned home, the Kazakhstan Emergency Situations Ministry’s press service reported on Monday.
Kurgan Governor Vadim Shumkov said there was almost a “sea” of water approaching.
“The city of Kurgan itself will be next,” Shumkov said. “The flow of the Tobol is accelerating. The water level in it is constantly rising.”
Shumkov warned that flooding would begin shortly on the right bank of the Tobol, which slices the region south to north, as well as the low part of its left bank.
"Fellow countrymen, leave the flooded areas immediately," Shumkov advised.
More than 7,100 people were evacuated on Sunday from several hundred residential buildings that had been flooded, state news agency RIA said, citing Russia’s emergency ministry, as the waters threatened 62 settlements and 4,300 homes.
The Tobol, a tributary of the Irtysh, rose 23 cm (9 inches) in four hours on Monday, regional authorities said.
Floods were also inundating homes in the Tomsk region in the southwestern part of Siberia, regional officials said on Telegram.
Almost 140 houses near the city of Tomsk, which is the regional administrative center, were under water on Monday, and 84 people were evacuated.
Shumkov warned that flooding would begin shortly on the right bank of the Tobol, which slices the region south to north, as well as the low part of its left bank.
"Fellow countrymen, leave the flooded areas immediately," Shumkov advised.
More than 7,100 people were evacuated on Sunday from several hundred residential buildings that had been flooded, state news agency RIA said, citing Russia’s emergency ministry, as the waters threatened 62 settlements and 4,300 homes.
The Tobol, a tributary of the Irtysh, rose 23 cm (9 inches) in four hours on Monday, regional authorities said.
Floods were also inundating homes in the Tomsk region in the southwestern part of Siberia, regional officials said on Telegram.
Almost 140 houses near the city of Tomsk, which is the regional administrative center, were under water on Monday, and 84 people were evacuated.
On Sunday night and into Monday morning, further problems developed in the Zharkain region, located 140 kilometers northwest of the capital Astana, where the River Ish burst its banks. Residents of several villages were evacuated.
The flooding in Kazakhstan is the worst recorded in 80 years. However, experts predict that this is only the first wave. Heavy rainfall in the south of the country and rapidly melting snow in the north mean that the situation may well worsen in the coming days.
Authorities have passed a bill to exempt those affected by the elements from taxes and other payments. At least several thousand houses are known to be uninhabitable after the floods. Several thousand people are staying in temporary accommodations.
Flooding in Russia
Russia has also been heavily affected by the flooding, with authorities warning people to evacuate parts of the Urals city of Kurgan as the mighty Tobol River swelled with meltwater and burst its banks, submerging swathes of Russia and forcing tens of thousands to abandon their homes.
Flooding is expected to peak on Monday in Russia’s Kurgan, a region of 800,000 people at the confluence of the Ural mountains and Siberia, as the Tobol River rose to 6.31 meters (over 20 ft) in the main city, Kurgan.
Evacuations of residents are also taking place in the North Kazakhstan region, which borders Russia.More than 108 thousand people have been evacuated from the flooded area in Kazakhstan, - Ministry of Emergency Situations of the country
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 15, 2024
5411 private residential houses and 1607 yard territories remain flooded. pic.twitter.com/MsiUw5klLI
The flooding in Kazakhstan is the worst recorded in 80 years. However, experts predict that this is only the first wave. Heavy rainfall in the south of the country and rapidly melting snow in the north mean that the situation may well worsen in the coming days.
Authorities have passed a bill to exempt those affected by the elements from taxes and other payments. At least several thousand houses are known to be uninhabitable after the floods. Several thousand people are staying in temporary accommodations.
Flooding in Russia
Russia has also been heavily affected by the flooding, with authorities warning people to evacuate parts of the Urals city of Kurgan as the mighty Tobol River swelled with meltwater and burst its banks, submerging swathes of Russia and forcing tens of thousands to abandon their homes.
Flooding is expected to peak on Monday in Russia’s Kurgan, a region of 800,000 people at the confluence of the Ural mountains and Siberia, as the Tobol River rose to 6.31 meters (over 20 ft) in the main city, Kurgan.
Source: Reuters, PAP
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