Nur-Sultan mayor’s office sent humanitarian cargo to Maktaaral district of Turkestan region that was severely damaged by flooding following the wall of the three-year old Sardoba Reservoir in Uzbekistan gave way. Completed in 2017, the 29 meters deep reservoir was designed to hold 922 million cubic meters of water for irrigation of the surrounding agricultural lands. Heavy rains and stormy winds on May 1 caused a Sardoba dam wall to collapse partially, flooding hundreds of houses in both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
To date, 31,606 residents from 14 nearby villages have been evacuated in Kazakhstan. Five villages with a population of 6,127 people were completely flooded, including Zhana Turmys, Zhenis, Firdousi, Orgebas and Dostyk.
Forty tons of various goods have been sent to the residents of Maktaaral district, including 20 tons of basic necessities: flour, sunflower oil, sugar, rice, pasta, and hygiene products. “We are also sending a special pumping station to the Maktaaral district, which pumps out more than 300 liters of water per second. That is 1,300 cubic meters per hour,” Nur-Sultan mayor’s office representative Nurlan Sydykov said.
As reported earlier, the estimated flood damage in Maktaaral district amounted to 404 million tenge. On May 5, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aybek Smadiyarov announced Nur-Sultan and Tashkent will work out a joint action plan to eliminate the flooding consequences. He said a governmental commission had been created, headed by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar.
On May 6, Deputy Prime Minister flew to Turkestan region and Uzbekistan to hold negotiations with Uzbek authorities. Earlier in the week, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed the situation over the phone and agreed the two countries will make concerted efforts to resolve it.
