Kazakh town evacuates after worst flood in decades

Kazakh town evacuates after worst flood in decades
by AFP Staff Writers
Pokrovka, Kazakhstan (AFP) April 11, 2024

Rescuers on dinghies float down inundated streets in the Kazakhstan town of Pokrovka, knocking on the windows of houses to make sure inhabitants have escaped the worst floods seen in decades.

"I have never seen anything like this in 57 years," Pokrovka resident Raouchan Aoubakirova said of the floods.

Rapidly melting snow and ice have taken rivers in northern Kazakhstan and across the border in Russia to unprecedented heights, threatening major cities and towns.

More than two weeks after water started to rise in Kazakhstan's northern and western regions, approximately 100,000 people -- of which one-third are children -- have been evacuated from their homes.

According to Kazakhstan's emergency minister, entire villages are without electricity, hundreds of kilometres (miles) of roads are blocked, bridges have collapsed and more than 4,000 houses across the country are flooded.

- 'The water came fast' -

In Pokrovka, which lies on the banks of the Ishim river (the Esil river in Kazakh), there is more than one metre (3.3 feet) of water on the streets.

Aoubakirova told AFP she "managed to get the furniture out" just in time.

Elsewhere in the town, tractors pulled carts holding fridges and washing machines from flooded houses.

Thirty-year-old Inga Todorovskaia told AFP: "The water came very fast. I stayed up all night and by morning it had already reached the house. It was up to our waist."

With the help of the town authorities, Todorovskaia said she was able to get her dogs and chickens to safety.

While Todorovskaia was able to save documents and some furniture, she now finds herself without a home, just a year and a half after moving in.

Other Pokrovka residents are more fatalistic.

"We hope to be spared," said 61-year-old bus driver Iouri Stepanenko, in a phrase that appeared wishful thinking as the Ishim river continues to rise.

"And if it doesn't, then well, that's that. What can we do about it? The most important thing is to remain hopeful and not to panic," Stepanenko said, adding that he would soon send his wife away from Pokrovka.

- 'Worst-case scenario' -

Soldiers and emergency workers are involved in rapid rescue and clearance operations, including pumping away water and installing barricades.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Saturday described the natural disaster as "perhaps the worst in years".

As water levels on the Ishim rose, the nearby city of Petropavl is braced for the worst as a surge is expected by Saturday.

According to forecasts by authorities, the floods should reach the city of 200,000 people by this weekend and only peak around April 22 and 23.

In preparation, around 25,000 people have been mobilised across the country.

In addition to rescue workers, the army, national guard, and secret services have been requisitioned and volunteers will participate in humanitarian operations.

"We have to be ready for the worst-case scenario," Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar warned after visiting the region.

Russia says flood situation 'difficult' as more rivers burst
Moscow (AFP) April 11, 2024 - Russia said on Thursday that unprecedented flooding had created "difficult" conditions and another major river had burst its banks, submerging roads and villages in the Siberian region of Tomsk.

Fast-rising temperatures have caused snow and ice to melt rapidly, causing a number of major rivers that cross Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow.

Three villages in the Tomsk region -- 3,000 kilometres (1,850 miles) east of Moscow -- were cut off from the regional capital when rising waters in the river Tom flooded roads, villages and several houses, state media cited local officials as saying.

Evacuations were continuing in neighbouring Kazakhstan, where around 100,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

In Russia, the Orenburg region has been the worst hit and thousands of residential buildings are submerged in water.

"This year's flood exceeded all historical figures in the entire history of observation," the Orenburg city administration said on Thursday in a post on Telegram.

Water levels in the Ural river, which flows past the city, have risen nearly one metre (39 inches) since Wednesday morning.

The river was 10.6 metres high on Thursday morning -- 1.3 metres above what officials described as the "critical level".

- Worst in decades -

In Orenburg, home to more than half a million people, another 400 residential buildings have been flooded in the past day, city officials said.

The emergency situations ministry said on Thursday conditions there "remains difficult".

It published videos of rescuers loading packs of bottled water onto inflatable dinghies to take to people stranded by the rising waters.

Spring floods are typical across large parts of Russia and Kazakhstan, as temperatures rise and vast masses of ice and snow melt.

The run-off into rivers often causes them to burst their banks.

But this year's floods have been the worst in decades.

Temperatures have risen quickly, accelerating the thawing process, and torrential rain has aggravated the situation.

Officials in the Siberian region of Tyumen warned on Thursday that the Tobol and Ishim rivers would not attain their highest levels until April 23-25, according to forecasts from Russia's meteorological agency.

In Orsk, the worst-hit city in Russia so far, locals staged rare protests earlier this week over the amount of compensation they were offered for damage to their property.

The Kazakh city of Petropavlovsk, home to more than 200,000 people, is bracing for potentially seriously flooding within the next 48 hours, officials there have warned.