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Kazakhstan: Flash Floods: DREF Operation n° MDRKZ007

Countries
Kazakhstan
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
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A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

A flash flood triggered by a dam burst killed five people and injured nine others in Kazakhstan's northern Karaganda region (oblast). The overflowing water flooded nearly 354 houses in Kokpekty village after the dam of a water storage basin had burst at 1:30 a.m. on 31 March 2014. Some 400 inhabitants were evacuated, and 5 bodies were found by rescuers as the flood water reached as high as 1.5-1.8 meters in the village.

The Emergency Operations Management Headquarters and a medical aid center were set up in a school of the village. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MoES), the water has been drained from the surface but it is still filling the basements and cellars of the building. The Karaganda Regional Prosecutor's Office launched a criminal investigation into a case of negligence that may have led to the dam crash in Kokpekty village.

In a few days the water drew back. The authorities have been cleaning yards and streets, pumping out the water out of houses’ cellars, barns and other buildings. 130 metres of roads have been restored out of the 150 metres damaged by the flood. Twenty six new electric poles have been erected to replace 22 damaged poles but works still continue to restore normal traffic and power supply.